Perhaps you could at some point make a custom scenario? If you feel like it. A core worlds in this corner of map, hiver in that, and derelict remnant in the other would be cool. Good for 4x challenge.I haven't attempted to mod the scenario part of the game as yet. I am finishing up a new release of JYD, maybe I'll tackle that next either here or there.
I think your file was over the limitCan you explain what you mean by that?
Another thing: is Prism Freeport supposed to sell Hiver weapons? I have a screenshot of Hiver weapons on the High End Market, but I don't know how to put it hereThat is news to me, I have them set to a faction specific blueprint that only The Hiver faction has access to. Idk maybe Prism reads all the faction blueprints in the players mod folder and pulls them for it's own use. Just a guess I haven't visited the free port in some time.
I have them set to a faction specific blueprint that only The Hiver faction has access to.Speaking of blueprints; I found a Hiver Blueprint Package when I was salvaging a research station. Is that intended to happen
The comment I was referring to was deleted.Ah ok, phew, I thought I had the mod squared away :)
Speaking of blueprints; I found a Hiver Blueprint Package when I was salvaging a research station. Is that intended to happenI was able to disable the Hiver blueprint package, just make sure you do not have one in your inventory before upgrading to 0.25 or you most likely will crash. Should not be an issue if you learned it since the blueprints themselves are still active, just the package was disabled. However, the more I thought about it, I like the idea that Hoomans and AI are frantically researching Hiver technology to maintain parity so I may make mini packages in the future.
Game crashed when I tried to access the "Planet picker" with the mod enabled.
Just tried fighting the 90 dp ship in simulator and it definitely deserves that rating
i was waiting a mod like this lol. Do you have any plans to make them Crisis event like in Stellaris? Like first they show up with small ships but more powerful ships appear as time goes on so they start attacking core worlds, capture systems, maybe factions also become allied with eachother to counter the hiver swarm. Even a buildable special super ship to make fighting easier with hiver swarm? (with a hullmod that increases its stats against hiver ships so it doesnt become op against everything)
Good stuff though i love it.
In Nexerelin, you have the option to start with your own planet and faction. When starting with your own faction, the "Planet picker" will let you add stuff in your planet, like heavy industry, military base, volatiles, rare ores, metal ores, farming terrain, population boost, etc. It also lets you pick blueprint packages, like low tech, high tech and midline blueprint packages and packages from playable factions. I think it crahsed because it couldn't find the Hiver blueprint package.Game crashed when I tried to access the "Planet picker" with the mod enabled.
I am unsure what a "Planet picker" is that you are referring to. A bit of clarity and I'll look into it!
Starting a new playthrough and giving this a shot. While I love my space dolphins first and foremost, shooting the hell out of Hivers is always very satisfying."Space Dolphins"? Could you elaborate?
Great idea for the mod, i always wanted something like this. They can work as an endgame crisis or a mid level threat.
Regarding the design of the ships, i have some fixed thoughts. The ships that resemble bugs but that are not actual bugs look great. But the ship that look exactly like bugs break immersion for me.
Like i can imagine a hive making bug like ships floating space arround but like bugs actually being the size of ship and looking like beetle doesn't fit.
Do you plan on making a version of this compatible with random sector?
So, I've been playing on stream with this mod, and I noticed something, do they have Nex things even? they aren't attacking me, and I just invaded and took over all of Kiztac without any resistance, or them sending vengeance fleets and/or counter invasions in response to me taking these worlds.They are set to be just above hostile so you can fly around and scout. However, In my experience, once you attack one of their fleets they turn hostile and will chase you down in their sectors. I am unsure what you mean by NEX "things". As to vengeance fleets, etc: If you took over their major planets then you have effectively gutted their economy and have greatly reduced their income to afford fleets.
I also need to add, when I took Tototchic over, only modifying the upper end of max industries, it was over the cap of 4 for it's current value when I took it over, so you may want to look into it if it was something you overlooked.As to the planet caps, yes that is an intended cheat for them to balance out that they are all the way out in Narnia and have no one to trade with due to their hostile nature. If I had not done that then I would have to add several more planets to cover all the industries and that gave them way too many fleets. I intended them to be a mid lvl threat which I felt was lacking in the game which is why they are so far away and only two systems. They needed to be tough and able to replenish their losses but still manageable.
Hmm ok that is a lot to digest. I do see your point though, I did use high energy focus on many of the ships and I will go over their layouts and specialize them better. You make a good point about ground support. In my games they seem to go after the luddics with a vengeance but it takes them a bit to take over the planets so I will add a specialized troop transport at your suggestion. As to phase ships well tbh that is sort of my prejudice, I just do not like them or use them in my games. You do make a good point there that I am trying to make this a fun mod for anyone and I could maybe convert some of the current ships to phase, or maybe add a couple.
I do like the play on words with hive mines lol. I do know there are mods that have mines, I would have to do some research to make my own but I like that. By fighters are you referring to their drones: allsup, flyter, gnawler and katydid and if so what holes?
As to making unique effects and special spiriting well that may be beyond my talents. I am no artist and the visuals I use in all my mods are from other modders who kindly posted their leftovers on spiral arms, I just recolored and or kitbashed them.
I am currently in the process of reworking their economy as suggested by MapleDaddy__ TTV so if you could flesh out your suggestions a wee but more I will work on your ideas next.
Well I did look over my fighters and realized the Katydid was underpowered so I changed the weapons and increased the flux so it could maintain it's shield AND fire weapons. They really do not have a dedicated drone carrier so I could think about that. As to beefing up their fighter lineup, I do have a low tech advanced drone, practically a mini-frigate, in my other mod JYD so I could do something similar but high tech. Tell you what, I'll design one and you come up with a insect related name to call it. Deal?
I had this guy laying around in my unused asset folder. I touched him up and resized it to just under a frigate. May still be a bit too big but the smaller I go the worse the rez gets. So, not the best resolution but I thing he'll do. I am thinking a mix of a Spitter and a Mirv and maybe a Twin PD but that may be too much (hidden of course) with no shield but a tough hull and armor. Thoughts?
(https://i.imgur.com/SxANtCa.png)
He's an art asset from spiral arms so all credit goes to Tecris, the spriter who made the little guy. :)
Well I was thinking a solo flight wing. I'll go with all three weapons and stick in that 10-20 OP range you suggest depending on how buff it is. As to size, I generally struggle with that, I have redone several ships because what looked good in the editor, well no so much in game. Scorpifly is great and I now dub him as such :)
Now on to making a drone tender. I do not have anything in that vein on deck that is Hiveresque so that may take a minute to make a new ship. I may reimagine the Calopteryx as they are both winged species of hiver. I know I get a lot of flak on discord because not all the ships are one note the same and that is on purpose because the Hivers in SOTS are a blend of races that bonded together. IDK, I have tomorrow off from work I'll come up with something I'm sure.
Just as a heads up, it doesnt look like biological hull is working in the simulator. l let the ship sit for 5 mins, and it never repaired about 7025.
Edit..AH okay....so it started to work when i went below 50% of its maximum hullpoints...and then will only repair you up to half of your starting. Might want to include that in the descrip for BH.
0.5 causes a crash on startup
0.45 works fine
starsector.logSpoiler84406 [Thread-3] ERROR com.fs.starfarer.combat.CombatMain - java.lang.RuntimeException: Weapon spec [JYD_srm] not found!
java.lang.RuntimeException: Weapon spec [JYD_srm] not found!
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.o00O.Ô00000(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.SpecStore.o00000(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.SpecStore.o00000(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.specs.HullVariantSpec.<init>(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.SpecStore.oO0000(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.SpecStore.public(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.ResourceLoaderState.init(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.state.AppDriver.begin(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.combat.CombatMain.main(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.StarfarerLauncher.o00000(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.StarfarerLauncher$1.run(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)[close]
0.5 causes a crash on startup
0.45 works fine
starsector.logSpoiler84406 [Thread-3] ERROR com.fs.starfarer.combat.CombatMain - java.lang.RuntimeException: Weapon spec [JYD_srm] not found!
java.lang.RuntimeException: Weapon spec [JYD_srm] not found!
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.o00O.Ô00000(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.SpecStore.o00000(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.SpecStore.o00000(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.specs.HullVariantSpec.<init>(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.SpecStore.oO0000(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.SpecStore.public(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.ResourceLoaderState.init(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.state.AppDriver.begin(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.combat.CombatMain.main(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.StarfarerLauncher.o00000(Unknown Source)
at com.fs.starfarer.StarfarerLauncher$1.run(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)[close]
Oopsie that is on me. I accidently assigned JYD missiles to the new drone and if you did not have JYD installed, well you know. Sorry about that, juggling updates on different mods at the same time the editor loads assets from both and my eyes were beginning to cross I guess :) D/L the new hotfix and you should be good.
Anyway v0.55 released
Hello, two things I'd like to ask--
1. is it safe to update the mod without breaking any save file?
2. Hivers are supposed to expand and colonize right? In my playthrough they've been sitting in their corner for years now, only sending in strike missions, no colonization/invasion efforts. Probably just because I'm missing out on an update, but wanted to say it anyway incase this was actually implemented and that there's probably something wrong on my end..
edit: I'm running with Nexerelin, yes.
v0.6 released today - save game compatible
Mostly under the hood or visual changes based on suggestions or comments here and on discord - Changelog on the op or the RAR has details
Oh I am always open to suggestions, some of the best parts of my mods are from players who suggested an idea. In the naming conventions of this mod I try to keep it in an insect theme but yea the weapon names aren't all that and Collaboration is great in my opinion, let's hear em!
Scorpifly is your baby glad you like it, looking forward to more suggestions!
You have bits missing in config/settings.json
Apologies, i meant Target Datalink from the Jeanne'D Arc, DME. Thats the one i was thinking of(the larger of the two carriers) This one i believe works for all allied fighters and fighter-like things.
Can you please update your mod for version checker, or even better - for mod manager? I love these mods with evil faction lurking somewhere, but updating unsupported mods is PITAHello there! I tinkered with version checker but had some issues with it in the past. I'll look into it again this weekend, I'm a bit more knowledgeable about the code structure now so I'm sure I'll get it. I'm a cleaver monkey after all, just ask any hiver. :)
Another idea related to Hivers being secretive — there is probably some way to prevent their ships from showing up in Codex and battle simulations, it’s done for Remnant ships after all.I'm pretty certain I can hide them in the codex with a hint tag in the ships.csv, I'll add that for the next update. I have them in the battle sims for the players who alter the mod to make them playable. I could take them out but I try to balance it between the players that want them strictly as enemies and the ones that want to be hivers. I was actually kind of surprised I had received so many private messages asking for the playable option when I first released it to be honest. I guess I could make a second file with them in it and the main file with them out like I do the player file. Added to the list
Also I don’t know what mod is this from but I found those factories that you can sacrifice ships to to get a different ship. It just so happened that I got Hiver ships twice in a row (a Queen class even, but I reloaded that save anyway) — noting this just in case it’s also undesirable.I have come across the factory sacrifice so I know it is part of a mod I run, just not sure which one atm. That change would take some research to see if exclusion is a thing - maybe? next update.
One small detail as well: their home system should probably not be literally called “Homehive”, unless humans are supposed to know where their home is exactly. It should just have a generic star system name.That is a decent point. That name was kind of just a placeholder and I never changed it. Easy enough to pick a hiver name like the other system - added to the .8 update list
By the way, the factory sacrifice is probably Industrial.Evolution because it has those "scavenging interactions" but the author blurred them to not spoil what they actually are.
Beware the Swarm! ;)
I received a lot of feedback that they were just sitting in their little corner of the map so I tweaked every setting I could find to make them more aggressive this patch. I released it before a full test run to get a hotfix out and umm maybe I tuned them up a little too much. I was spending most of last week updating JYD so my game is not that progressed but at about 3-4 hours in I am noticing an increase of their invasion fleets but not at crazy levels. For me they seem to be methodically focused on the systems on the side of the map they are on and not random scatter throughout the sector.
The mix is about right for how I have them set up, a couple heavies to block and a lot of destroyers/frigates to skirmish so that looks about right. If you don't mind my asking, is this screen capture from an invasion fleet or from you going into one of their sectors and how far along into the game hour wise what this taken?
Just a few comments:
Pros: Love the concept and the terrifying-ness of the swarm. Honestly they're currently sweeping through my playthrough and smashing most of the factions. This is great considering I saw the earlier feedback that the hive was not expanding or being active in the sector. They're even responding to Luddic Path threats and sending out strike missions. (I'm running a hodgepodge of mods 3-4 factions, Nex, bunch of QOL mods and such).
Request/Cons: Is there a way to prevent Hiver blueprints from spawning in the sector? I got my hands on some BP's and been able to outfit a few ships with some of the goodies..... and well theyre amazing but jesus they are overtuned to the point where I feel that I can't use them because yes building them is expensive but not prohibitive enough for their outputs.
Possible solutions for overtuned weapons for this specific faction mod (I'm going to throw the following out but not sure how code intensive it would be to create any of the following):
- The easiest would be to make them incompatible with non hive ships - but this wouldnt be very fun
- Creating a prohibitive cost for usage in any of the following scenarios
-- Large combat readiness depreciation if not used on a Hive Ship (similar to plague weapons)
-- i.e. weapons usage is tied into crew depreciation (i.e. similar to fighters but active usage acculates crew deaths). The Ghost Gallon bounty in Nex has a similar feature for hyperspace travel
-- Amping up the weapons cost to something in the 100,000 of thousands of credits (basically prohibiting constructing them until mid/late game)
Anyway those are my thoughts. Love the mod. Love the fear theyre creating when see a Hive swarm. Thrilled to see it working as advertised as well. Thanks!
That is awesome I am a huge fan of the game. I named one of the ships in the new mod I am making the Kerberos :)
But as far as the mod goes:I have done my best to add as many "black lists" as I could to block various interactions. To make them 100% disconnected from the galaxy I believe I would have to disable the ability for them to colonize and invade. Those are core concepts to the mod but if there is a way to only have them interact with Nex with just those two features, I would if I could. Prv Starworks has a race of aliens, the Agni, which behave more like you describe and they are quite the challenge, you may want to check their mod out.
When I looked at this a few weeks back, the Hive planets were spamming the market with requests for certain commodities, making it impossible to tell which of the core worlds actually needed those commodities. (Unless you install Stellar Networks, which is a good mod but has a huge overhead so I don't use it) Also I kept getting mission givers who wanted me to take stuff to Hiver planets. Dude, no; they want to eat my liver. If Hivers could be made into something more like the Remnant - completely disconnected from the human-world economy and society - that would solve my major problem with this mod.
Also I actually kinda think the ships shouldn't be so explicitly bug-like. When humans make spaceships, do they look like flying monkeys? No? Why not? Why would bug spacers make flying bug spacecraft? Bug design, yes; flying space bugs, maybe not so much.I struggle with that over the months since I released the mod. I would say the number one complaint I see on discord is that players hate the sprite work. If you look at the Hiver ships in SWOTS they are armored bugs and my initial inspiration for Hiver Swarm was when I saw Tecris' and Xenoargh's sprites on Spiral Arms 2. I have added some non-bug but still non-vanilla ships since then to fill out their roster so I am not opposed to the idea of non-bug ships.
I like the idea though. (SotS1 wasn't a terrible game, except for the space dolphins - always kill the space dolphins) The other thing that might work as a source of ideas is the Symbiots from Emperor of the Fading Suns (it's on GOG, but you might be able to find it some abandonware sites as well). I think it's Matt Caspermeyer who figured out how to hack the executable to make the Symbiots build spaceships, which means they immediately start assaulting the Stigmata garrison, which means the players need to actively cooperate to try to hold them back from invading the rest of the map. Made for a genuinely interesting alien threat.
I dig the new sprites. Very cool
I see a reaper ship, i see download
Having played around with the mod for... around six hours or so, i've noted some things:Well the balance of their ships has been an ongoing tug of war some complaining they were too easy and others that they were too hard. The vision for them is to be a nuisance at first but as the game progresses they become a threat and if left alone for too long a major takeover in the sector. To archive that while also being the enemy of every faction, they needed to be OP to handle the multiple invasions against them. The more modded factions you have in your game, the harder it is for them.
firstly, both the ships and weapons the swarm has are hillariously strong and many are overpowered.
Highly accurate, extremely flux efficient, highly damaging projectile weaponry, backed up with infinite ammo sabot-esque swarmer kinetic missile launchers, equipped on ships that are both durable and often using very strong abilities (like the temporal field ability) for an OP cost often comparable to weaponry much weaker than the swarm's equipment does not necessarily make for a balanced faction.
which, you know, if you want them to be a lategame esque enemy faction that's fully understandable.Well that does seem to be a bit too strong, may I ask how many other factions mods do you use in your game? Personally I play with pretty much every faction mod for compatibility testing and it takes them some time to become a threat. I haven't tried a game with no faction mods so maybe there is an issue with them being too op for a vanilla faction run.
however, the addition of having them launch full invasion fleets into the core kind of puts that concept into a tailspin, as this results in the player encountering the bugs very often, and very early - especially given the efficacy of their invasion fleets, of which there are extremely many, and they very often succeed.
i've played just past one ingame cycle, and have reached the grand level of 5 - and so far there's been 2 successful invasions(cibola and Salamanca), one failed(sindria), there's 2 more on the way (gilead and ancyra) along with a saturation bombardment headed for Madeira, alongside numerous raids.
out of all of these, there was not a single one ranked below 'superior' in terms of swarm vs defender strength, and sindria only won on the ground.
this intense aggression leads to the player encountering the swarm very often - and unless the player gets both very lucky and plays incredibly well, they will not be able to stop them before they make massive inroads into the core sector systems.
while i do absolutely love the concept of this mod, it feels a bit too imbalanced - and if one wants to keep the power imbalance, maybe instead of superior ships and firepower, they'd simply have much more ships than the opposing force? a change such as that would both make sense given the swarm moniker and style, as well - to draw from history, making them the shermans to the player's tiger tanks would feel very fitting ("a German Tiger is easily worth 10 shermans, but they always had 11!").
the sprites also look a bit... fuzzy, compared to other ships and equipment in the game - but only some of them. iunno if that's just my install.Have you looked at the alternate ship pack I have imbedded in the RAR? It contains non-bug designs that are cleaner but still have an alien feel to them. I am no artist and have done a couple passes at cleaning them up, if you could list the ones you feel need some work I would appreciate it so I can see what I can do.
in short:
really cool idea, but the bugs are pretty overpowered and would probably need some work on that. sick mod though, definitively one to keep an eye on.
Well that does seem to be a bit too strong, may I ask how many other factions mods do you use in your game? Personally I play with pretty much every faction mod for compatibility testing and it takes them some time to become a threat. I haven't tried a game with no faction mods so maybe there is an issue with them being too op for a vanilla faction run.so far i've been running the mod alongside dassault-mikoyan, Diable avionics, Interstellar imperium, and Kadur Remnant.
In past patches I added a third system across the map to sort of force them to travel the sector. And in the last patch I was able to turn their aggression up via fixes in their Nex files. Perhaps having both fixes tunes them a bit too much. I'll play around with a game where they only have the top left systems and see how it goes.
Have you looked at the alternate ship pack I have imbedded in the RAR? It contains non-bug designs that are cleaner but still have an alien feel to them. I am no artist and have done a couple passes at cleaning them up, if you could list the ones you feel need some work I would appreciate it so I can see what I can do.i have not, but i'll be sure to. it's not like it's a big issue or anything - they're already sufficiently horrifying to think about :).
so far i've been running the mod alongside dassault-mikoyan, Diable avionics, Interstellar imperium, and Kadur Remnant.All great faction mods, I use them myself. Well NEX does use some logic when deciding invasions, generally the more hated then the more likely it will be invaded. Based on the faction mods you have listed it does not look like you have one that is on the left side of the map like Xhan Empire. The Hivers tend to go after systems closer to their section of the map first. For example, Luddic Church is one of the first targets since the Luds HATE tech and Hivers are high tech and they are one of the closer factions.
i'm of course rather unfamiliar with creating a mod for starsector, so i'm not entirely sure how causing hostility and how the 'behind the scenes' portion of invasion logic works,
but would it perhaps be an idea to start their worlds off as small in terms of population and logistical capabilities but well defended (to prevent other hostile AIs or the player themselves from just wiping them out) and have a rapid growth modifier of some sort on them, to make their capacity for launching invasion fleets scale up over time?That is probably one the the things I have struggled with the most in the patching since release. If I make them too weak in terms of numerical advantage, then they are wiped out by AI factions. If I make them too weak in terms of ship superiority then their fleets are usually intercepted by AI remnant fleets and destroyed before they can reach the core sectors.
i have not, but i'll be sure to. it's not like it's a big issue or anything - they're already sufficiently horrifying to think about :).Lol nice that is the intention. :) If you can stomach it, take a peek under the spoiler image on the first page that shows the changed ships vs their base ships and maybe the replacements are more to your liking. If you navigate to the Hiver Swarm mod folder under graphics\ships you can see all the base ships and the file name is their ship name. If you could give me an idea which specific ships you find blurry I would truly appreciate it, be brave little piglet!
as for the balancing aspect on a ship scale - less ships would certainly make it easier on you as a modmaker to get a comprehensive balancing done with less work, but i do not think that the variety of ships is an inherently bad thing, since they do make for more interesting fights. what i'd focus on during a balancing run are:I have received some comments in the part regarding their flux efficiency so that was already on the to-do list but thank you just the same.
Flux/damage ratios of weapons systems
damage output capacity of missile systems with infinite/replenishing ammunitionFull disclosure, that was a mistake on my part when I initially set up their weapons that I never addressed. No specific reason for it, idk that was months ago :) I'll have it fixed/changed next patch.
speed vs tankyness vs equipment capacity of the ships themselvesWell I do have them tanky and high speed in order to take advantage of their hull repairing ability to pair with their hit and run tactics. So they can move in, take a hit and weave out to repair. However I do see a case to make their larger ships slower and their smaller ones less tanky as a balance tweak.
since these areas are, at least to me, the biggest factors in the balance of a combatant.
again, i'm not a modmaker so i've little idea how hard or easy it would be, but the option to make each ship and piece of gear weaker but have a lot more of them in each fleet would also be an idea. they are a swarm, after all.
still, it's a very fun mod to play, and the concept is fantastic and horrifying in equal measure.Thank you so much! I am glad you think so, my goal was to provide the player base an organized faction to go up against versus random bounties and remnant fleets. I generally play as a neutralist and I wanted a no questions asked big bad and it doesn't get more than that with the Hivers.
Edit: to clarify a bit what i meant with the "speed vs tank vs equipment capacity" point, i figured i'd slap some of the vanilla cruisers into a diagram to show a bit how i'm thinking - picture related. (bear with me, i'ven ot used a standard forum board structure in a while.)I get it now, thank you for taking the time to make and embed a graphic. The level of effort players such as yourself put into assisting me make my mods more enjoyable just floors me. I am so appreciative thank you.
out of curiosity - how much flexibility does the game allow in the way a faction function?
If you could hide the faction from the player and the rest of the factions and force them to search for them - or better yet - have the player accidently stumble on their core worlds as they are out exploring, it would make them scarier.
I'd guess that Nexerelin probably doesn't allow for something like that though
out of curiosity - how much flexibility does the game allow in the way a faction function?
If you could hide the faction from the player and the rest of the factions and force them to search for them - or better yet - have the player accidently stumble on their core worlds as they are out exploring, it would make them scarier.
I'd guess that Nexerelin probably doesn't allow for something like that though
*Kills Legio Fleet*As far as the bounty payments, I have them flagged to not offer them and to hate everyone including the player so In theory it should not happen. However, it does occur occasionally and I have yet to figure out how to disable it fully. Sort of a lingering issue that is still a work in progress. I left it on the bottom of the list since it does not raise your reputation with them, that is hard capped. I'll reach out to Histidine, who was kind enough to help me with other NEX interactions and see if they can give me some insight.
Hiver's who hate everyone: Here's 1.5K in bounty payment.
Me: Uh... Thanks.
Edit: Are hiver ship blue prints supposed to be discoverable?The blue prints have been an ongoing tweak over the course of the mod. Originally I had them discoverable as any other, then I turned them off, then made them re-discoverable but broke them up into several blueprint packages and finally I blacklisted them from the prism freeport. All changes based on player feedback. Some players want them, others do not so this was the best compromise I could think of. I made them harder to get for those that want to discover them and I figured for the players that got them but did not want them, well they could just not use them.
I am unsure what you are referring to. In the last patch I moved their third system to the side of the map the first two are so there should be no trade travel across the core. They do conquer core worlds so perhaps you are seeing fleets spawn from a system that has has changed to Hiver. Some clarification would be appreciated so I can answer in better detail.
Ah ok thank you for the details, that clears things up. A mod maker can only stipulate the position of their faction in a standard game. If you are playing with random core worlds, a must to play the derelict scenario, then yes they can appear anywhere like any other faction. Random is Random.cheers. great mod by the way
Personally I enjoy when I play that scenario and they spawn in the same system as Hegemony. Constant battling and if you are sneaky sneak enough, there is treasure galore to scavenge. :)
Arriving as a small faction should be possible, there's a mod that adds a Sci based faction that arives to the rin then swaps them with a AI faction latter from memory. But maybe the Sci ones there from the start and they swap, which means having a place holder faction. Perhaps peaceful bugs until poked?thats a cool idea. have some flavor text if you find them early, "these bugs appear to me newly arrived to the sector, busy working on... something" then make them really aggressive expansionists
I'll try to find that mod after work.
Thinking more about weapons - it's most frustrating that I have to pay up to 500 000 credits to Midnight Dissonant to buy certain [REDACTED] weapons that you can't really get otherwise but can just stumble upon a Hiver blueprint and just produce them with low cost (relative to huge utility).
Maybe some weapons should be re-categorized as "super weapons" and made unavailable as blueprint and rare in usage (perhaps even very rarely available to buy at Midnight Dissonant)?
Thinking more about weapons - it's most frustrating that I have to pay up to 500 000 credits to Midnight Dissonant to buy certain [REDACTED] weapons that you can't really get otherwise but can just stumble upon a Hiver blueprint and just produce them with low cost (relative to huge utility).there is nothing to do with it, at last for now, just ignore bluprints and illegal weapon traders.
Maybe some weapons should be re-categorized as "super weapons" and made unavailable as blueprint and rare in usage (perhaps even very rarely available to buy at Midnight Dissonant)?
Just noticed a couple of the Hiver Swarm ships are ludicrously cheap, particularly the Swallowtail and Princess Heavy Cruisers which both run in the 20K range , being cheaper than destroyer level freighters. Just something I noticed during a build slot event. It also might be worth changing their Tag from High Tech to Hiver Swarm.Good catch, I'll be adding a 2 in front of the current price in the upcoming update. Typo on my part TY for noticing it.
hi some comments from first playthrough:I agree, if you are not well established with the ability to recover from losing an entire fleet, then that is the recommended strategy and one I employ myself.
1. Yeesh my starting system had a Hiver planet, and two faction planets. It was very entertaining to watch the local patrols engage and then jump in on the battles...and view just how nasty the Hiver ships are. I stayed and helped/fought long enough to get a story point and capture a Hiver destroyer. Boy was that a power up. By that time, the patrols were mostly gone and I had to leave the system.
Before I could return and do some more coop farming...the factions had reinforced much quicker and took that colony.
2. Yes, Hivers are designed to be an Almost-Grand Menace and are balanced as such. Like, as in Hivers can out duel two or three similar ships. And, they all regenerate (even the fighters IIRC?). As prizes, it's a tossup on what I find more valuable: their repairing hulls, or the super efficient weapons. I guess the nod goes to the weapons.
Hivers are well worth hunting...but I almost never engaged them alone. I would go in as support for another faction.
3. In terms of Nexerelin 4x: just about every other faction jumped on the Hivers and took most of their worlds early. I never heard much from them after the mid-game. I will even have to check to see if they are still around. I haven't seen a "news event" concerning the Hivers in many many months.I would curious to know which stores toy find them in. I have several blacklists and preventions from them spawning in any other factions inventory.
4. If it is possible: I would prevent Hiver weapons from ever showing up in store inventories. Their weapons should only be obtainable via salvage from a derelict or post-battle salvage. However I should note that I've only see very, very rare instances of Hiver weapons in stores. But boy do I stop what I'm doing and consider the purchase. The few I've seen, especially the large weapons, are worth twice anything else.
5. To help the Hivers against the "Nexerelin dog pile", in random game creation: do the Hiver have now, or could have later: a secondary capital that is NOT in the core world radius? I suppose the balancing act is "if we make Hivers too powerful then every time we include them in a random game...they just take over" sort of thing?You comments in points 1, 3 and 5 are from playing with random core worlds. It is hard coded in NEX that when that option is selected then any mod's map coordinates or added systems are ignored. The game takes each mod faction you have enabled as well as the vanilla factions and just randomly puts them in the core sector. Hivers are a full faction unlike [redacted] or other mod baddies like Blade Breakers or Agni and as such they are included in the random pick and it becomes, as you state, a dog pile since they are set to hate and to be hated by everyone and are forced to spawn in the core.
Also their weapons, if one gains their blueprints, should probably be way more expensive, an order of magnitude so because some of them are basically the best weapons in the game overall exceeding even [REDACTED] weapons in quality, while the latter can cost 500 000 when bought from the [REDACTED] NPC.I am at a loss as to why their BP are still obtainable. I have put several blocks in to prevent it, I'll look into it further. As to the price, I looked into it and you are correct. I will raise the prices in the next patch.
Great mod. Had a lot fun repelling or beenig caught by few Hiver fleet. Few thoughts about making mod more balanced. Hiver's ships have biolagical hull perk, but weapon counts as high tech, so it can be used by anyone without penalty. It will make sense to give non-hiver ships penalty for bioweapon use(maybe to build into the ship modification, like nutrition tank, which allows to use it, or give it weight and flux penalty, dunno). Late game i am just ignore 1000 range 800 dps fluxchip cannons, otherwise it will ruin game. We need more missiles, guided, acid based, pd distracting.I am glad to hear you are having fun fighting them. I like the idea of making them Hiver ship only but I am unaware or a way to do that. I'll put that on the research to-do list. I set a limit to their missiles and focused on their drones as their long range fighting capability. I believe that if I were to add more missiles and/or missile centric designed ships it would be overboard.
for some reason your mod causes to game to lag extremely in combat. I don't know why but it does this but it does.Have you increased your vmparams? Dark Revenant wrote a good example and explanation https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=8726.0 I recommend at least 6GB if you play with multiple mods enabled.
- The fighter are too op especially the one from mother carrier. it really can kill all the ship if not get a focus fire and spawn too fast, like i state above tough is ok but can you change the respawn time ? or atleast made it glass canon dmg dealer or super tank but low dmg.
One exemple that make me rage like hell are the fighters. For exemple my parangon with its full escort got wrecked by a part of the hivers fighters without having even a chance to see any enemy ship. And i try some tactics with different ships even a fleet full anti fighters and even that isn't even efficiency.I've seen this comment numerous times on the forum and in discord. I will be addressing this in the upcoming patch, ty both for bringing it top of mind.
One thing, please do not nerf Hivers. It is interesting as tough faction. Some things as locations, specialized industrisies, star bases, maybe, but overall, you can beat them. Speed, distance, firepower, they gone. I personally will be hapy to see super Hiver (to confront Gown from scalartech solutions, or sajuuk-khar), but other, those who got their immertion broken. Maybe give them weaken version of mod? PS they are not superpower or something, big ships do not have speed boost or kind of flicker, missiles not swarmers and can be intercepted.I have dome my best to make them a challenge at mid game and a threat as the game progresses. As I stated earlier, I do believe their drones are a little too good and I have an idea to address it while keeping that in mind. As to a weaker version of the mod, I do think it is a good idea and would give an option to the players that would like that. However, that would take a lot of work and effort that I do not believe I have the time for while working on my three other mods and living a balanced life :)
Guys, ive run Hiver ships..ive run against Hiver ships. Early or mid game, you may struggle. Once you get over the mid game hump and have some stuff of your own you can spank Hiver fleets. You know where the systems are, you know that they have to cross space to get to your colonies. If you set up in a spot that allows them to easily reach your colony without interdiction well...yall kinda asked for it. Its like...thinking you can just go out with a vanilla fleet set with cruisers and up and right away go after the Templar systems back in the day lol. No..just not gonna happen. Running Hivers as your only mod next to Nexelerin and everything else vanilla is a mistake if thats what people are doing. You need the tools: ships, weapons, ship mods, leveled captains and a decently filled out main character to fight on par. Last stage defense stations, money to buy some support fleets, a couple of high commands etc.You essentially have it correct, maybe I'll add some sort of disclaimer on the front page :) Thank you for the kind words.
Anyway, thumbs up Dazs! Glad to see its still around. Too many factions just really dont provide much of a late game challenge.
Great mod. Had a lot fun repelling or beenig caught by few Hiver fleet. Few thoughts about making mod more balanced. Hiver's ships have biolagical hull perk, but weapon counts as high tech, so it can be used by anyone without penalty. It will make sense to give non-hiver ships penalty for bioweapon use(maybe to build into the ship modification, like nutrition tank, which allows to use it, or give it weight and flux penalty, dunno). Late game i am just ignore 1000 range 800 dps fluxchip cannons, otherwise it will ruin game. We need more missiles, guided, acid based, pd distracting.The reason why I wrote about it, is because I saw it partially implemented. RED mod, where oculian ships have larger OP cost for non oculian weapon and wings. Mad mode on: rebellion or planet coquest creates new hiver faction free from tyranny and searching for alliance; hivers are other creatures and their ships will demand hivers crew; bio station; accelerated grow rate for hiver on habitable planet. Mad mode off. Thumbs up.
I am glad to hear you are having fun fighting them. I like the idea of making them Hiver ship only but I am unaware or a way to do that. I'll put that on the research to-do list. I set a limit to their missiles and focused on their drones as their long range fighting capability. I believe that if I were to add more missiles and/or missile centric designed ships it would be overboard.
The reason why I wrote about it, is because I saw it partially implemented. RED mod, where oculian ships have larger OP cost for non oculian weapon and wings. Mad mode on: rebellion or planet coquest creates new hiver faction free from tyranny and searching for alliance; hivers are other creatures and their ships will demand hivers crew; bio station; accelerated grow rate for hiver on habitable planet. Mad mode off. Thumbs up.
So you have stepped on a slippery way of balance:). Beware because we lost many that way mokarran, charybdis, amina and even Pandemonium The Great. Bit offtop, are you awere of kir'ko in Planetfall, they coud be interesting in terms of inspiration and, dunno, lore development?
Cool mod just one small problem.
More overpowered than UAF which i didnt even know was possible
only thing i really wanna see about this mod is, unique ship sprites... is it planned? especially the reaper from mass effect... just wondering
i have an slight bug report.It is intentional but I've put in blacklists to try and keep them rare but yes they are available for loot. I broke up their fleet into several BP packs in order to make it rare for a player to have their entire lineup. I originally had them un-lootable but I got several requests to put them back in, so I figured if some players did not want them they could just trash them. Getting them all in one loot is pretty lucky, good on you! :)
first: i found an blueprint pack or 3 with a lot of the hivers blueprints (in the update before they changed there type to bio tech). no idea if im suppose to have them or not.
second: after updating, i cant help but notice that one ship, and only one ship is 'BioTech' instead of 'Bio Tech'. only noticed cause i have blueprints.I'll go through the ships and double check my grammar, thank you for the report.
lastly: i started a game with Nexerelin's random sector turned on, and I cant help but feel like the hive dose not have its own faction. i still see there ships in some star systems, but only ones with warning beacons around the system, but it feels like the [REDACTED]. I don't see them do anything like having worlds or colonizing systems or attacking people or anything. is this what this faction dose, or is it suppose to do more normally?That is because they are greatly diminished when playing with random systems and cannot field scouting and invasion fleets like they do with a standard sector. All the industry buffs I gave them gets tossed aside and they are thrown into the general mix of faction lotto. The difference between them and [REDACTED] is that the Hivers are set up as a faction and the [REDACTED] are a core race and are not picked when the randomizer assigns planets to each active faction so they act like they do in a standard game.
really enjoying this mod, but thought i should report my findings to you, just in case any of this is not intentional.I am glad to hear it, always nice to hear a kind word. I appreciate the reply, I rely on players such as yourself willing to take the time and make a report. I am no professional coder and if you look at my changelogs you'll see that my mods are rife with oopsies :)
I ain't gonna lie, the bugs seem a tad way too overpowered, especially with Nexerelin. The bugs reproduce super quickly and are hyper aggressive. The thing is, I see other people complaining about how the bugs are non-issues but in every game I've started they always just overrun the core and cut the nuts off all factions super quick, and none of them ever manage to recover and band together. The worst part is all the core factions just keep fighting each other instead of the swarm menace. Why and how do they get so many fleets so quickly? It's impossible to beat them unless you're cheating or doing some remnant run. And you know what the worst part is? These bugtwats will saturate bombard the crap out of your planets and others' but no one bats an eye. But the MOMENT you do it back to them? Oh god the humanity. Or should I say, the bugmanity! It's a good mod in theory and I've had a TON of fun trying to hunt them down but honestly I think I can't play with it because it just ends up the same way every run: dead factions and alone against the swarm which ends up with me also dead soon enough.
Hi, Dazz
Thank you for the update, i was able to load a new version in my game, so should be save compitable. Good mod, appreciate your work!
Thanks for making a great and highly entertaining mod. I love both this one and Junk Yard Dogs dearly.That is so kind and nice to hear, thank you!
I have a question and a possible bug.Oh my that has to be a boo boo on my part since it is a cruiser it should be around 20-30 DP. I'll have that amended next update, thank you.
Is it truly intended that the Burrower-class Standard Drone Tender only cost 3 DP to field? That seems a tad on the cheap side.
I think the eyes are a bit bugged atm. They only show up for me after I "strip" a ship and then they keep showing up again and again if I strip it more times.Well they ARE Bug eyes! (sorry for the dad joke) It could be because I originally had them as built-in but changed it to mounted so they could be looted.
Thanks again!
Love the mode. Svreraxx Catapult is too low at 22 op (I think should be at least 30). It's one of the best weapons in the game.So nice to hear and thank you for the comment. I did make their weapons OP so they could hold their own against the entire sector gunning for them but you have a good point about them being too powerful in the player's hands. I am releasing a JYD update today and then I am working on some promised CFT updates but I'll work on a Hiver patch and should have something out next week.
Balance is wack as all hell. Ships are very strong (and surprisingly easily recoverable for how strong they are), but weapons are just stupidly broken.As to their ship recovery, that has also been an ongoing struggle between the players that do not want them recoverable at all and the players who want trophies for their hard work. As a balance, I made them explode on death and their salvaged ships usually 3 to 4 d-mods making them wrecks. I have been thinking of making a separate download to flag them unrecoverable like Remnant ships for players that do not want them but I have held off since I figured if a player did not want them, they could just opt to scrap them. It will delay the patch but I can add a separate ships.csv download that would make them unrecoverable, assuming I understand your comment correctly. Some clarity on that point would be appreciated.
Like large energy weapon that's cheaper to mount than plasma cannon, longer range than plasma cannon, and more than 4 (!) times more flux efficient than plasma cannon at 0.3 flux per dmg. What? :oIt is hard to judge them comparing their tech to vanilla or most mod faction tech. In earlier versions of the mod I had them toned down but they just got destroyed by an entire NPC sector going after them and the player had little chance to interact with them. I have steadily increased both their tech as well as their aggression over the course of the mod. Their weapons are OP on purpose so they can not only just hold their own but steadily take over the sector if left unchecked. As stated earlier regarding ship recovery, I felt that if a player did not want to use the recovered weapons, they can opt to sell them or toss them out the airlock. I am unsure if I can make a patch that makes them unrecoverable but I will look into it.
And it's meant to be mid game boss faction? With weapons times stronger than end game Doritos tech??I call them a mid-game threat because a player can ignore them up to a point. Typically by mid-game players have a planet fully colonized, a strong fleet with capitals and some backup ships stored on their planet. At that stage when you can afford to loose a fleet, I felt the game was lacking in threats from mid to end game.
And then these weapons are also like 10 times more expensive than vanilla guns, and can be found in random salvage all over the system without even meeting a bug fleet. Or purchased together with bug ships at any of countless bug-invaded planets in core systems.I made them so expensive as a trophy to sell for players who lost so much defeating one of the fleets as a way of compensation and reward. You are correct that when NPC fleets fight them, there is loose salvage flying all around to be picked up. I am unsure but if I make their ships unrecoverable, I believe that would eliminate or at least reduce the amount of after battle salvage floating round. I cannot say if that is the case though until I do some testing.
You have to actively avoid using this easily accessible and crazily OP tech that has zero drawbacks, otherwise literally every other fight in game is a cakewalk. And if you fight bugs without using their tech - they are ridiculously hard to fight.In the patch I am working on I have decided to increase their fleet point strength and deployment costs in order to lower their ability to field overlarge fleet deployments. That should make fighting them more manageable and reduce their fleet sizes and thus the amount of recoverable tech.
I'll compare it to Templars, for example. They are also way stronger than vanilla ships, and are meant to be sort of end game threat, butOh how I miss The Knights Templar as a mod, fond memories. Dark Revenant is a much more skilled coder than I am and it has not been updated for years but I'll see if I can still d/l it and look over the code for clues.
1) they have counters that let you prepare to fight them specifically
2) their tech and ships are a lot harder to recover, and doesn't lie around abandoned mining stations
3) their tech is at least somewhat balanced against vanilla - ships cost a lot more DP to field, and weapons are extremely flux hungry, especially on vanilla ships.
Getting Templar gear is hard, it gives a huge advantage and feels strong, but it doesn't feel like typing "nuke" in console and autowinning every encounter.
I like the concept, but with this balance it's in such a weird place that it throws the rest of game's balance out of the window.Well that is sort of the point of the mod. I would not recommend installing them with no other player made faction mods to help keep them in check, they will destroy vanilla factions. I will add that to the forum OP as a disclaimer.
Oh how I miss The Knights Templar as a mod, fond memories. Dark Revenant is a much more skilled coder than I am and it has not been updated for years but I'll see if I can still d/l it and look over the code for clues.
You could also take a look at the Legio Infernalis (https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=14935.0) as the faction also follows a similar philosophy (Late game threat, somewhat op, needs player intervention to stop them, etc.) or even ask them for advice. (if they're willing)I do have Tahlan Shipworks as an enabled mod, the Bento is one of my favorite ships and am always happy to get one from pirate fleets early game. I'll look into how Nia Tahl (also a coder way more experienced than I) has Legio set up as well, thank you for the recommendation.
I have a idea for the swarm what if they don't start their Invasion till after a mission to one of their systems is completed then boom they begin the invasions, I have no idea if it's possible but thought I put it out there for people who wished they would wait a bitI did tinker with that idea earlier on but I could not get it to work as intended. It has to do with how Nex handles factions that can invade, they need to be set up at the start so they can be added to the pool of colonization/invasion factions. I did reach out to Histidine back in June for advice on that and they were very helpful and I was able to increase their aggression but essentially it came down to writing my own invasion code to delay it and um I am just an old guy with the most basic understanding of Java. I am learning more as I go and it is an interesting pursuit but that amount of code was beyond me when I attempted it. I would love to add story content and it is a goal but a long term one I am sorry to say.
As to their ship recovery, that has also been an ongoing struggle between the players that do not want them recoverable at all and the players who want trophies for their hard work.No I agree with people who think ships should be recoverable, just at much lower rate. Because so far I can get quite a few after every fight, which is not much lower than with vanilla ships.
It is hard to judge them comparing their tech to vanilla or most mod faction tech. In earlier versions of the mod I had them toned down but they just got destroyed by an entire NPC sector going after them and the player had little chance to interact with them.I thought campaign layer encounters between NPC fleets is solved based on fleet points, not on actual weapon stats? I imagined just making them higher FP would solve the campaign layer problems without upsetting battle layer balance? No actual experience here though. Making them cost more deployment points cost sounds good though.
I made them so expensive as a trophy to sell for players who lost so much defeating one of the fleets as a way of compensation and reward.Makes sense in battle salvage, but right now I find a bunch in just random salvage everywhere, mining stations, ruins and such. Maybe removing bug stuff from normal loot spawns would fix this. It should be a trophy from a tough fight, not just random find.
Oh how I miss The Knights Templar as a mod, fond memories. Dark Revenant is a much more skilled coder than I am and it has not been updated for years but I'll see if I can still d/l it and look over the code for clues.There was an update for previous (.91?) version, I think it was just not posted in mod index.
Hey. No worries, I was just throwing my impressions here, I understand that balancing boss faction is tough.I appreciate that. I can be a challenge keeping up with three faction mods and poor little ole Ore Refinery, I really need to spruce that utility mod up at some point.
No I agree with people who think ships should be recoverable, just at much lower rate. Because so far I can get quite a few after every fight, which is not much lower than with vanilla ships.Well as far as I can tell it is a binary option. I thought that by making them explode it would make them less recoverable but that is not the case, just more damaged. I was able to make a separate ship.data for the upcoming update that the player can replace the current one with that makes them unrecoverable.
I thought campaign layer encounters between NPC fleets is solved based on fleet points, not on actual weapon stats? I imagined just making them higher FP would solve the campaign layer problems without upsetting battle layer balance? No actual experience here though. Making them cost more deployment points cost sounds good though.To a point yes you are correct. I also had to take into account the player battles. The way I have them set now, the AI is challenged as well as the player. I did increase their deployment and supply use by 15% for the next update. In testing it seems they are easier to manage.
Makes sense in battle salvage, but right now I find a bunch in just random salvage everywhere, mining stations, ruins and such. Maybe removing bug stuff from normal loot spawns would fix this. It should be a trophy from a tough fight, not just random find.Well same for the weapons, a binary choice. I do have several blacklists so they do not show up in places like the Prism Freeport and some other modded ways of obtaining them. I will look over the SS code and see if there is a way to exclude them from ruin and mining station salvage as well. I also will be including an optional weapon_data.csv that, if used, will make their weapons unrecoverable as battle salvage.
There was an update for previous (.91?) version, I think it was just not posted in mod index.I was unaware of that, I'll see if discord has anything. I did take e's suggestion and looked over Nia Tahl's code and found some tags I had not seen before and with some research was able to make the aforementioned optional files.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to check out the update.That is good to hear. I was able to spend a couple hours today banging out code. Next will be some graphic updates and that will take a couple more hours when I get the chance. So no ETA as yet but I should have time this weekend to give Hiver some focus.
The 'restricted' tag will ensure that Hiver weapons never drop, unless you specify a drop group for them that ignores that tag (this is how Omega weapons work in the vanilla game.)Makes sense in battle salvage, but right now I find a bunch in just random salvage everywhere, mining stations, ruins and such. Maybe removing bug stuff from normal loot spawns would fix this. It should be a trophy from a tough fight, not just random find.Well same for the weapons, a binary choice. I do have several blacklists so they do not show up in places like the Prism Freeport and some other modded ways of obtaining them. I will look over the SS code and see if there is a way to exclude them from ruin and mining station salvage as well. I also will be including an optional weapon_data.csv that, if used, will make their weapons unrecoverable as battle salvage.
The 'restricted' tag will ensure that Hiver weapons never drop, unless you specify a drop group for them that ignores that tag (this is how Omega weapons work in the vanilla game.)I added no_bp_drop, restricted, no_drop_salvage, no_dealer to the ship_data.csv tags and no_drop to weapon_data.csv and those seemed to to do the trick. I'll take your advice and add the restricted tag as well, thank you for the help.
You can then make them available to the player by a number of methods (unique campaign entities that draw on a unique set of drop groups, listeners, scripted interactions) that you have more control over.That is where I start entering unknown territory that may as well say "here there be dragons" in my coding knowledge. I started this whole mod thing to learn Java and I guess that will be my next step in the learning process. Again, my thanks for the help.
It's not that painful to do campaign entities - you can do pretty much all of it just in drop_groups.csv and salvage_entity_gen_data.csv, looking at the vanilla files for things like Remnant-tagged campaign entities.You can then make them available to the player by a number of methods (unique campaign entities that draw on a unique set of drop groups, listeners, scripted interactions) that you have more control over.That is where I start entering unknown territory that may as well say "here there be dragons" in my coding knowledge. I started this whole mod thing to learn Java and I guess that will be my next step in the learning process. Again, my thanks for the help.
i like the one that looks like a mass effect reaper makes me hope we'll get a proper mass effect modThat is great to hear, I saw it in Sprial Arms and was like yep that is going in the mod. I had to adjust it a bit to keep in line with EA's policies after I checked. They are super protective of their IP which is why there aren't any current mass effect mods. I checked with Kerberos Productions before I set out to make Hiver Swarm and as long as I gave them credit and it was non-profit they are ok with using their IP which is great.
**It was the Steelclad mod , just finished going thru them all checking . only been playing for a week still still checking mods out. Thanks for your help:)
Lol one of the ships is literally just a Leviathan class Reaper from Mass Effect but painted green.Hello there. Yes I get a lot of comments about that ship, mostly from people who would like to see a Mass Effect Mod. I saw it on Spiral Arms and thought yea that needs to be a Hiver ship :) I did modify it a bit with the re-coloring, landing lights and some other minor changes to make it just enough off to avoid IP infringement. I hope you are enjoying the mod and I am always open to any ideas to make it better if you would like to share them.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts Island. I apologize for not having the update I was working on out yet and I will defiantly look over your notes for it but I have a bad case of Pneumonia and it has been sucking the life out of me the last couple days. I've been to the doctor and I am on sort of a bedrest routine at the moment but I'll hopefully be able to get back to updating mods again in a week or so.
No pressure at all, real life goes first of course, hope you get well soon!Thank you for the well wishes. I am on the mend and can go a whole 30 minutes without coughing which is a relief. I looked over your notes and have some questions that clarity would help me address them better:
selling price of the weapons is too high, even if meant as a miniboss reward. Usual mid-game fight gives me 25ish weapons, 250k each, on average, which would sell for around 3kk. I don't know what's your math behind it, but getting 500k for one hard midgame fight seems like a more appropriate reward, not current 3 millions.Well that was a compromise I made when I increased the D-mods their recovered ships took. You may have a point though in that they may be too high since I looked at them as individual loot and not as a whole as you point out. I'll review them for the upcoming update. As a side note, I have made an alternate weapons file that is optional that players can overwrite the base one that will make the weapons unsalvageable.
Then missiles visuals does not match gameplay at all. In vanilla and like 99% of the mods, big nuke = big visible missile, crappy anti-fighter firecracker = tiny missile. In your mod I can see a few swarmer-ass looking missiles incoming - aaaand they strip half my armor as if they were harpoons. Very nice feedback, yes.Yes that is an issue with some of my missiles in general. It was brought to my attention on the Carter's Freetraders thread as well. When I designed those missiles I was more concerned over the performance and have been balancing them based on that. I do thank you for pointing out the visual aspect can be as important and have been remiss in addressing it. I have already changed the CFT missiles and have a better understanding of the code. I will take what I learned from that and adjust the Hiver missiles for the upcoming patch.
Then fighters are just mind-boggling. I get they are meant to be strong, but why would you make them also tanky to the point of eating multiple shots of cruiser's main weapons, not PD? Scorpyfly (I think) is not just OP enough to solo a destroyer, or face tank like 5 shots from Interstellar Imperium's Tripple Beam Cannon (large energy main cannon of a capital ship) but also feels stronger than most frigates from your own mod. It's like they're not just OP, but to the point where the mod's own line up feels unbalanced against itself.Well as a swarming race I felt that carriers should be the backbone of their fleets. It is also a trait shared by the Hivers of SWOTS but also is high armor and tanky ships. Perhaps I went overboard in trying to keep in lore with Kerebos's ship design and it needs a revisit. I am interested in your opinion on how to keep them a relevant threat if their armor and HP were reduced but also manageable to an extent for the player to fight against.
Other fighters are more sane, although still IMO too tanky, and heavy hitters are not visually distinct enough. For example torpedo bombers in vanilla are easily distinguishable from fighters, but here, unless I pause the game and read fighter's stats, I can't tell which ones of these is carrying a fat torpedo in addition to regular IR pulse laser on steroids loadout. I think it's the rhombus-shaped ones, but would be a lot more readable if they had like a missile rack sticking out or something.Another great visual suggestion, thank you, it merits attention and I will look into it for the update.
Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but I just feel the mod has a lot of potential, and it could shine much brighter with less "vanilla thing but number is 10x bigger" cases.No complaint taken, I appreciate constructive criticism. I see many comments on discord that are just trollish in nature and I do sometimes pick up an idea from them but it is comments such as yours that are well reasoned and thought out that are truly helpful.
and have some questions that clarity would help me address them better:Sorry for the slow reply, was away from stable internet and starsector.
Well that was a compromise I made when I increased the D-mods their recovered ships took. You may have a point though in that they may be too high since I looked at them as individual loot and not as a whole as you point out. I'll review them for the upcoming update. As a side note, I have made an alternate weapons file that is optional that players can overwrite the base one that will make the weapons unsalvageable.D-mods are barely a debuff at this point, and when you grab that skill that reduced DP of Dmodded ships - turns into a straight up buff, so I'm not sure it's the right way of compensating. Maybe a better balance for strong ships would be something like a hullmod in bioships that just makes ship less likely recoverable, like reinforced bulkheads but with negative number. I think other mods have these, like (I think) Second Wave options salvage chance hullmod.
Well as a swarming race I felt that carriers should be the backbone of their fleets. It is also a trait shared by the Hivers of SWOTS but also is high armor and tanky ships. Perhaps I went overboard in trying to keep in lore with Kerebos's ship design and it needs a revisit. I am interested in your opinion on how to keep them a relevant threat if their armor and HP were reduced but also manageable to an extent for the player to fight against.It's gonna be a big poorly structured IMO, but hivers sound like something relying on numerous heavy fighter drones that stay in a fight, hit hard, and are more heavily armored than vanilla fighters. You should have to invest heavily into PD, but at the same time if most of your weapons are dual use PD, and every ship has a integrated PD hullmod, fighters shouldn't be a problem, and you should be killed by bug cannons instead.
No complaint taken, I appreciate constructive criticism. I see many comments on discord that are just trollish in nature and I do sometimes pick up an idea from them but it is comments such as yours that are well reasoned and thought out that are truly helpful.Yeah, well, hiver balance is sort of a meme there. But you can't expect a wall-of-text criticism in discord, instant chats just don't do that very well, so nobody's even trying.
I always loved being the underdog in the sector. And you did a great job making the replacement ships graphics. They. look. awesome.What a nice Thanksgiving gift! Thank you for the kind words I'll make sure to pass them on to Sparranova on discord who submitted cleaned up parts for me to kitbash with.
Fantastic mod. I love the idea and execution.Good morning, thank you for the kind words I truly appreciate them!
Suggestions:I have adjusted them several times over the course of the mod and it is tricky because some people play a closer to vanilla game and some people play a heavily modded game. The more faction mods a player has installed, the harder it is for the Hivers to succeed. They are currently tuned for a modded game with several faction mods (I currently have around 30 but that may be overkill). Some mods are more powerful than others but overall the Hivers will roll over the Vanilla factions (in my games they go after the Lud with a vengeance first). I guess I can make an alternate version that is weaker for those than play a more vanilla game, I'll give it some thought.
1) Too aggressive and too strong compared to the vanilla factions. Sindria conquered by hivers in the blink of an eye.
- Delay invasions by a cycle, decrease invasion fleet size, or decrease invasion frequency?
- I do like having an OP enemy, though. I like the direction you've gone (just maybe a little too far).
2) The vendor price for hiver weapons should be much lower. I made about 4 million credits after selling the weapons from a single medium-large battle.They are more expensive than standard because I wanted a risk vs reward balancing offset for the amount of ships and crew you loose when fighting them. In the last patch I lowered the prices quite significantly, are you perhaps referring to their past pricing?
Well done! This game badly needed insectoid aliens.Well Alex has his vision for the game and I respect that. I just thought an alien menace would add spice for those that found the game to easy combat wise.
I did see your response to someone else about the balance being tuned for faction mods. So I%u2019m currently doing a run with BLUE, RED, UAF, BRDY, and some others - all of which I avoided including in my other recent game with Hiver Swarm due to them being too OP (I thought, haha). Now I realize I want this power in the sector to check Hiver ambition!Those are some strong factions, you should see a difference. I would also suggest Xhan empire https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=17972.0 That mod is really well done and has some good ships. But mostly because Peplat has their system situated almost perfectly between the Hiver system and the vanilla faction's systems. It unintentailly makes them a good bulwark to slow them down before they reach other systems.
A swappable config file or something would be a good idea, but up to you! I%u2019m not sure if I found that big vendor price after the very most recent patch or not. In any case, I don%u2019t mind being shorter on money, so I used your alternate non-lootable file.Good to hear that. I have tried my best to make the Hivers as modular as possible with many alternate version files included. I like giving players options since I know we all have different playstyles and goals.
Thank you!
The balance for this mod is way, way out of wack for a vanilla-ish experience, I'm struggling to understand some of the balance choices, these fleets are incredibly strong compared to any other neighboring factions and decimate the core worlds in the matter of a few cycles in which every portion is inhabited by hivers. The fighters are EXTREMELY tanky compared to any other fighters and hard-hitting again, compared to any other fighters / bombers which require support to be all too impactful or are usually moreso nuisances.I designed the ships to be tanky because they are hard coded to be enemies to the entire sector. In my games I have seen more than one faction invade their system at a time +/- my personal fleet at the same time. Also, they need to be able to stand up to multiple Remnant fleets when they send out invasion/colony fleets since their systems are way outside normal shipping lanes where the remnant fleets hang out and intercept.
I've sort of tried to understand your point on trying to not make the faction pushovers and maybe you're just competing with the other mods that ALSO overpower their factions, but these guys really take the cake with fleet size and kind of detracting from what I assumed would be bio-engineered ships which're fleshy, weaker yet more numerous or maybe some glass cannons or... something balance-yWell they are an advanced alien species with better tech than Corvus factions. The focus of the mod is to have a more advanced enemy and a challenge to fight against. Balance isn't really a consideration since I never meant them to be a player faction. (Note: I have had several requests in the past which is why I have instructions on how to make them playable on the forum op if you really want to roll over the sector.)
but no, their weapons are INCREDIBLY strong, their hull + armor is incredibly durable (and apparently regenerates, which is easy to do when theres so many ships deployed per swarm fleet...) and they're numerous compared to other vanilla mods.See above regarding weapons/hull and regen. I would, however, like some clarity on your numerous comment. Are you referring to the number of fleets they have out at once, the amount of ships in an individual fleet or how many ships they can deploy in combat?
I think, if you want, you should establish a design philosophy for the hivers like oh, the fighters are weak but they're numerous and swarm like locusts, cause I ACTUALLY REALLY ENJOY the aesthetic and idea of bug-men from the corner of the system waging war and stirring ***. I wanna kill aliens, I think that's missing from vanilla.Well that is an idea I think I can work with, I just want to make sure I understand your point correctly. Are you suggesting that I reduce the stats of their individual fighters and bombers but add more ships per wing?
A balance or an alt-mod where the stats are for a more vanilla-ish experience in their values would be coolI am in the process of making a more vanilla friendly version of the mod however that requires a lot of code manipulation. I am not sure I have the free time to release that in the near future as I also am working on making an all insect ship graphic pack oh and those pesky holidays where people would like to see me crawl out of my cave and visit them. :) The idea is on the Hiver to-do list so it will get done just no ETA, sorry.
srry for ramble its late and im just sad I have to disable this mod and make a new save since bug-men basically consumed my vanilla-ish core worlds in 5 cyclesOH no need to apologize, it is comments like yours that give me ideas and it makes the mod better for all.
Hello, just posting some thoughts about the mod. So, there's a weird thing where you can't conquer Hiver worlds, because for what ever reason, if you have a faction commission, they sue for peace the second you invade, but they don't even have the positive relations to do that so, what gives? If a Hiver takes your planet, you're basically ***. Another thing is that these things don't seem to really bother with anyone else and seem to gun straight for me. Why is a faction bent on eating the sector only going after my faction?Hello there, I'll answer as best as I can but some clarity would help. You say they go after you first, which faction are you playing as and how many faction mods do you have installed?
All in all, they're a decent threat. Or, I would think so, but apparently a fleet of Star Destroyers isn't something they like dealing with, especially when you have a Secutor shooting halfway across the map that outranges every ship they have with never ending turbolaser fire. I have a few modded factions (the Star Wars one included), and I really don't see too many factions being swallowed up because they originally went after this one faction that was based on a sort of opposite to the Hegemony (they like the AIs and want to coexist), and their station alone was keeping all of their ships back before the support even got there. People have said here that they're tanky, but they don't seem that difficult to kill. Granted, they've only fought those guys in particular, and they don't seem to deal with Star Wars ships that well either, so I can't in fairness say they're lacking in strength. I'm just annoyed they seem to ignore everyone just because they have a hate boner for me.I do not have the Star Wars mod enabled so I have not tested them against it. Is that the faction you are playing as? (see above) Also, you may want to review my response to MagnaSonic3000 above your post, they had some similar concerns that I tried to address in my response.
I did it, I crush those disgusting insect system :) .Cheers, achievement unlocked!
On serious note, I have fun figuring out how to build ship to fight them, it definitely a challenge but doable. I hope you don't nerf them too much and keep it as a challenge. I can understand why some complain about how OP and aggresive they are, on a light modded run about 8 additional faction, they don't get invade on their homeworld often enough , so they can focus on conquer on other faction territory. Also you can't really use alpha strike low range build against them so maybe it limit build a bit.Agreed. I made them to be a challenge for a modded game. I'll add a disclaimer in the next update stating that.
I don't know if you need to balance them for everyone to enjoy, cause everyone has different playstyle. And I don't think you need to, it a mod after all. One suggestion, maybe just keep their superior flux armor and shield stat, and nerf all of their ship top speed by 5, keep the reverse speed the same, so they can still do the retreat and heal strategy.I am happy with their current state and though I do see complaints on discord it is mainly about the art assets. The next update will be a graphic overhaul of the ships in the main pack to be all insect looking (The alternate mechanical pack is complete) and at this stage I have no plans to adjust their stats or add ships. Not that I am opposed to it, I just do not see a need personally but if someone has a good idea, I will consider implementing it.
Thanks for making and updating the mod !Thank you so much, it is such a treat to get a kind word. I could not have gotten this far without player input and help and I am so thankful when someone reaches out.
One thing I've noticed is that the Hiver faction isn't hostile to all modded factions. For example Imperium, and this means that they will boost hiver power through trade.Thank you for the heads up. I have not looked into yet as I am away for the holiday (Merry Christmas all!) but at a guess I would say it is most likely because they have similar alignments. I'll be back Tuesday to take a peek under the hood and have a better answer then.
List<FactionAPI> factionList = sector.getAllFactions();
FactionAPI hivers = sector.getFaction("HIVER");
for (FactionAPI faction : factionList) {
if (faction != hivers &&
!faction.isNeutralFaction()) {
hivers.setRelationship(faction.getId(), RepLevel.VENGEFUL);
}
}
Merry Christmas to you too, Dazs. In that spirit...Well slap me silly. I spent so much time hunting down the prefix for every major faction and flagging them individually. Ah well all part of the learning process. Now pardon my noobness but which file should I add the code? I am assuming HIVER_gen.java but just want to make sure. OH an in that same spirit, I am very thankful for the helpful posts and advice you've given me since I started modding.
If you want to make your faction omni-hostile to the whole sector without having to set all the relations manually, use this code:CodeYou want the cutout for neutral factions so the Hivers don't do the equivalent of getting in a fight with a tree. But this way you don't have to update the mod every time someone adds a new faction, either.List<FactionAPI> factionList = sector.getAllFactions();
FactionAPI hivers = sector.getFaction("HIVER");
for (FactionAPI faction : factionList) {
if (faction != hivers &&
!faction.isNeutralFaction()) {
hivers.setRelationship(faction.getId(), RepLevel.VENGEFUL);
}
}
No worries. I really like the mod because it fills a niche for an evil type faction, and makes the world feel more alive albeit a tad overbearing. I also have extra incentive to wipe them out because they dominate all trade and go after the size 8 cities early on. Having more modded factions recognize them as evil and push back a bit would also help balance the difficulty as well.Great, I made them with that in mind. I am so happy when people enjoy the mod and welcome the challenge they provide. I agree with your summation that the more factions that hate them the better, it is almost a requirement. With the code help above, I should have an easy fix in tomorrow when I get back to my PC. I have been busy with R/L stuff and general holiday merry making that I am no where near complete with the insect ship replacements but I'll get the hotfix out asap.
I have been using this mod for more than a year, yet just now realized there was an alternative ship/weapon skin pack included in the mod folder to make the ships more Mechanical-Organic and less Lexx-Organic.Indeed. I do my best to accommodate different aesthetic tastes. I know some people really do not like insects and that can be a positive when they are an enemy race but also an avoidance to using the mod due to revulsion. In the current state of the mod there are several overlaps between the main and alternate pack and the end goal is to have two separate looks. I have been collaborating with HuginBlar and we have re-designed the Catcher, Crabby, Emperor, Eyes, Deathfly, Hornet. Moth, Prince, Snipper, and Viridula to be organic looking for the main pack so far. We still have to replace seven more so no real eta on the release but it is a work in progress.
eagerly awaiting the new updateSo am I, so much work has been put into this update I want to share it asap. We have the Caelifera, Catcher, Ceruchu, Cleridae, Crabby, Emperor, Eyes, Deathfly, Hornet, Lucanidae, Moth, Prince, Scarabaeus, Scarab, Snipper, Viridan, Viridula replaced with organic looking versions. We still have 4 more to go and I have some code work to do so I cannot give an estimated release date yet but free time to work on the mod is opening up now that the holidays have passed.
perhaps if you are gaining access addtional weapon models perhaps you can add some more weapons to the hiver arsenal :) and make use of the art assets.Well I am thinking of using the sprites from Sparranova donation that I use on the alternate weapon pack but if time allows we may make more organic looking versions. As to adding to their arsenal, they currently rely on energy pulse weapons and missiles. I do not see them using ballistic but I could see maybe a beam. Either way, if I add more weapons it would have to be unique to their current lineup. I have not given it much thought yet but I would welcome ideas that are Hiver lore friendly.
A nice big green colored bio beam would be fitting I think. Reminiscint of FTL's beam anti bio beam. Maybe the large beam can deal super strong fragmentation damageIt is a good idea but I would have to be careful not to infringe on the star federation mod that is already out there (great mod btw, recommended). Anyway yes a frag beam is not in their current lineup of weapons.
or cause crew members to die.(beyond my coding abilities.)mine too :)
played with this mod. its quite fun, but i have some things to say:The mod has gone though several version of trying to get it right and I am so glad to hear that.
first of all, i like how they fight. quite strong, and they feel dangerous, but not invincible. i like the way how the nexerlin factions just try there best to destroy them whenever they take a core world. (by mass invasions on said world.)
they feel like a real threat, and they are lovely and deadly to fight against.
but i have some issues:Well I did inflate the cost of their weapons as a way to offset a player's losses by fighting them. I recently lowered it but yours is not the only concern I've read about it so I'll adjust that even lower in the next patch.
first of all, the weapons are to costly. like, sure the eyes are expensive, but they are collector items. they feel very good to get and sell, but its nothing ridiculous.
the other weapons though, sell way to well. i can fight a fleet of there's, then sell the guns i get for 1 - 3 mill easy. every time. it give me so mush credits that nothing else in the game is worth doing, if i want credits at least. like i get them being costly, because they are good and we want to study them or whatever, but it invalidates almost all the credit based challenge of the game for me.
they could do with a slight nerf is all IMO
and secondly, its slightly frustrating that there worlds always have the best prices on everything. it makes it slightly harder to find good trade roots. could you maybe buff some of there worlds accessibility? so they don't 'overstock' on goods all the time?Oh no not mean at all, quite constructive in fact and I am grateful for it. I was unaware they had that effect on the sector, I guess because I play as a scavenger and not a trader. I'll have to give that a deep dive to figure how I can address that. After that marathon update I just posted I am taking at least a week break and actually playing the game :) And after that I have some things I need to fix/add to Carter's Freetraders but I will have your concerns on my to-do list for Hivers for 1.04.
sorry if my words are kind of mean, i really do enjoy this mod. its not for every playthrough, but its still very fun.
best wishes.
Cool perfect timing, my new graphics card comes in a couple days, can't wait to load 20 faction mods counting yours. Also I echo alaricdragon's sentiments. Nice work with everythingHi Steve, I was hoping to hear back from you and your thoughts on the update thank you for the kind words!
yes, I would say that the weapon prices should be brought down a bit. Also as someone who likes doing trading activities they pretty much dominate the commodity board with being the cheapest places to buy stuff. If you have a mod like stellar networks on every commodity page you see a see of green where hiver cities are producing stuff super cheap. Which is a bit annoying. I understand you have to make them a superfaction but its a little non immersive. Maybe something to think about for next update.At a guess I think it is because I gave them a super economy since no one will trade with them and they need to be self sufficient. How I can do that while also not effecting the economy as a whole I will need to do some research.
Also in looking at the prices for the weapons. Many times the large weapons have prices close to 60,000 base cost while the medium is also 60,000. Maybe making more differentiated weapon costs because logically smaller weapons should cost less.That's a good point and one I will take into consideration thank you.
Was rereading this and might be regretting putting this in my game :D. Is there a way to make saturation orbital bombardments (rather than go through nexerelin ground invasions) of this faction not cause rep loss with the humanoid factions? I mean, one would think they wouldn't mind and how would they know your fleet did it if hiver worlds are on the edge of the map dozens of light years away from the core...Well the issue with sat bombardments is some factions regard them an atrocity no matter who you use them against. When setting up factions, there is a flag labeled in the faction file found under data\world\factions near the bottom "caresAboutAtrocities": which you can set to true or false. Now I am far from an expert but it is my understanding that if it is set to True then that faction cares about any sat bombings and pretty much consider you a monster for such mass murder. Of course I AM a noob modder so if anyone reading this knows better then please educate me.
I am not sure I would call this an issue. I also want to make it clear, I am not an experienced player, have never started a colony (or even finished main story), and just decided to go crazy with faction mods. I only just created the sector with them and have maybe 60 minutes of exploration in, so I haven't even fought them once. My question was more of an idea given how it appears (from reading spoiler text) this race acts as a devouring swarm.I set them up as an enemy faction and depending on how many modded factions you have enabled thier danger level varies. IE the more enemies they have the lesser threat they are to you plus you as the player have a better chance of piggybacking on a faction invasion an letting them lead the charge while you "help" and maybe pick up the scraps ;)
With that disclaimer out of the way, two ways to combat the reputation loss came to mind. But I have no idea how hard either implementation is.The various factions do sometimes put bounties on them in which case yes you can gain rep with the faction that posted the bounty by killing Hivers but I have never seen them ask for a planet invasion. Otherwise your reputation will only change slightly and killing Hivers is probably the hardest way to get a rep increase anyway so I would not recommend it :)
1) Run a check on a player orbital bombardment action, if it is against Hiver race apply a reputation gain (maybe more than the loss as you are doing factions a favor?). I imagine vanilla factions this would be easy to do but not sure about other modded factions.
2) Would be activate above check once Hivers colonize X# of systems. Maybe flag it as a multi year bounty? Cash/minor rep for fleet destruction and 5 rep per planet wiped clean?I am not sure if that is even a thing in the game but it is beyond my knowledge at any rate. Sounds like a nice feature but Nex is pretty hard coded and I would have to check with Histidine before even attempting something like that. Food for thought though.
Another suggestion, is there a way to hide their starting planets? I could immediately see where they started. Took a bit of the fun/horror out of adding them in and finding them.Well I did have them hidden in their original release but I learned later on that they only way to get them to invade and colonize was if I set them up as a playable faction. Once I did that their planets showed up on the map by default. I was able to hide them in the codex and the intel tab but that is best I could do to keep some mystery.
I am not sure I would call this an issue. I also want to make it clear, I am not an experienced player, have never started a colony (or even finished main story), and just decided to go crazy with faction mods. I only just created the sector with them and have maybe 60 minutes of exploration in, so I haven't even fought them once. My question was more of an idea given how it appears (from reading spoiler text) this race acts as a devouring swarm.I set them up as an enemy faction and depending on how many modded factions you have enabled thier danger level varies. IE the more enemies they have the lesser threat they are to you plus you as the player have a better chance of piggybacking on a faction invasion an letting them lead the charge while you "help" and maybe pick up the scraps ;)With that disclaimer out of the way, two ways to combat the reputation loss came to mind. But I have no idea how hard either implementation is.The various factions do sometimes put bounties on them in which case yes you can gain rep with the faction that posted the bounty by killing Hivers but I have never seen them ask for a planet invasion. Otherwise your reputation will only change slightly and killing Hivers is probably the hardest way to get a rep increase anyway so I would not recommend it :)
1) Run a check on a player orbital bombardment action, if it is against Hiver race apply a reputation gain (maybe more than the loss as you are doing factions a favor?). I imagine vanilla factions this would be easy to do but not sure about other modded factions.2) Would be activate above check once Hivers colonize X# of systems. Maybe flag it as a multi year bounty? Cash/minor rep for fleet destruction and 5 rep per planet wiped clean?I am not sure if that is even a thing in the game but it is beyond my knowledge at any rate. Sounds like a nice feature but Nex is pretty hard coded and I would have to check with Histidine before even attempting something like that. Food for thought though.Another suggestion, is there a way to hide their starting planets? I could immediately see where they started. Took a bit of the fun/horror out of adding them in and finding them.Well I did have them hidden in their original release but I learned later on that they only way to get them to invade and colonize was if I set them up as a playable faction. Once I did that their planets showed up on the map by default. I was able to hide them in the codex and the intel tab but that is best I could do to keep some mystery.
There are a couple enemy races from other mods, Blade Breakers and Agni come to mind and they are not set up to as playable like Hivers are so they are not on the map and you'll find them while you explore. You may want to check out their respective mods:
https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=12553.0 for Agni
https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=11322.0 for Blade Breakers
I am sure there are more but it is a good start. I would recommend both mods to a new player such as yourself for their quality content in any case.
So, gonna chime in here as a new player: I uninstalled them after 20 hours because they are ridiculously broken.I would like to start my reply by first thanking you for taking the time to post your concerns.
They are a difficult faction to fight, yes, but not impossible. Their weapons are 3-4 bars ABOVE everything else I've fought in the game, including other modded factions AND the Remnants. The weapons combined with the simple fact they dont send out *small* fleets...only MASSIVE (hitting the ship/fleet limit) capital ship heavy(on avg 6+ cap ships per fleet) fleets also makes them a royal pain to deal with, but these fleets can be countered.This is by design. Initially I had them send out weaker fleets and they were sniped by the remnant before they even reached the core worlds. I needed to increase their power in order for them to be a threat to an entire sector that hates them and constantly invades them. I am not done with the mod by any stretch and am always trying to fine tune it and I take your concerns to heart.
None of that was why I removed the mod. I removed it because they annihilated many all the core worlds with bombardments/take overs and then absolutely bent the economy over a table and rammed a ping-pong paddly in paddle first.There is a built in time limit before they can start their invasions to give the player a build up period, however they cannot be ignored passively after that. The key to keeping them from spreading is to help defend systems they are invading and not just leaving it to the NPC fleets to handle them. Their invasions are announced and can be tracked. The way I keep their economic impact in check when I play against them is looking for their trade fleets and taking them out before they reach their destination. They are meant to be an active threat that the npcs can get overwhelmed by and the player has to fight against them to make the difference.
I attached 3 snips of what the market has been like for the last 16 hours of gameplay. In the colony tab they have the largest "market" in the sector by over double the next.I have their system economy buffed because initially they have no trading partners and they need the income to field their fleets. The issue is usually because as they colonize and take more systems, their economy buffs exponentially because now they can trade with those taken over systems. I am currently looking into trying to keep their power levels high but manageable but also limit their economic impact. I looked into a couple posts on the economy but have yet to figure a way to do that. I'll try reaching out to other mod makers and see if an answer can be found there.
This faction isnt one of those "Starts in a corner spreading steadily while still playing by the rules" like I thought it was gonna be, its more of a "We kill randomly and sporadically and then have some cheat level economy that lets up maintain an unrealistic tempo". Seriously, they flew across the sector once (60+LY) to bombard a *BRAND NEW COLONY* I had just set up... I was not pleased.I am curious at what time stamp did this happen? You state initially that you played against them for 20 hours. In my games I can usually head off their invasion fleets within a couple hours of play and build up and do not colonize a system until I have a fleet that can defend it.
Is there any way to make their weapons drop-only?I do have them blacklisted on the Prism Freeport trading list so I know they will not show there. As to arms dealers I am not sure if you are referring to the base SS dealers or one of the mod added dealers like SCY's Amity Freeport or Industrial Evolution has (both of which I also have a blacklist for) so if there is another mod that has them that I am unaware of I'll look into blocking it. When you say an empty BP I am not sure what you mean by that. I have gotten their BP from research stations and in fighting them and was able to learn the designs like any other BP.
In the current default setting you will only get empty hiver bp in exploration yet their weapons can be purchased from illegal arms dealers.
This faction isnt one of those "Starts in a corner spreading steadily while still playing by the rules" like I thought it was gonna be, its more of a "We kill randomly and sporadically and then have some cheat level economy that lets up maintain an unrealistic tempo". Seriously, they flew across the sector once (60+LY) to bombard a *BRAND NEW COLONY* I had just set up... I was not pleased.I am curious at what time stamp did this happen? You state initially that you played against them for 20 hours. In my games I can usually head off their invasion fleets within a couple hours of play and build up and do not colonize a system until I have a fleet that can defend it.
I find your feedback constructive but I do "hear" your frustration. My focus in the last patch was making them more ascetically pleasing but in the one I am working on next is a balance patch so any details given is very helpful.
Was about 10-15ish hours in (time just *poofs* when I play this game). Found a nice star system with a tern world and a blackhole nearby 4ly away with frozen worlds so i was starting to setup a nice little industry and before i even got the first industry up they saturation bombarded it.Thank you for the time stamp clarification, that helps. And yes SS can be a Zen experience and I've looked up at the clock myself wondering where the time went :)
I was also not playing as any of the core factions, I was playing as the UAF (The Anime Cat People Mod with sweet ships) so I started in the lower left and it made countering hiver fleets *incredibly* time/resource intensive.Hmm, that is interesting. Personally, I have not played as UAF as my aesthetic is low tech sort of scuffed and beaten up ships so I cannot say from first hand experience but I have read on the Hiver reddit threads that UAF is one of the Mod factions that are OP enough to stand up to them. Another one I have read and experienced is that Xahn Empire https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=17972.0 is a good one to have installed as a NPC faction since their system is directly in the Hiver invasion path and they do a pretty good job of defending the sector. Plus it is a well done mod and I recommend it either way.
I was honestly expecting an enemy more like the Scourge from Stellaris where they're more an end game faction that comes in *really* late,Oh my talk about a great time sink, Stellaris and I go way back :)
but that was just my noob ass reading the description and having not played the game before.Don't beat yourself up about it, I am flattered that you chose to add them in your first playthrough. I will write a better description on the main page that they are a boss faction that you do have time to prepare for but one that the player has to take an active role in defeating them starting around mid-game and can be an end goal achievement if you do not have many mod factions to help.
I'd love to re-active this mod if you can get this whole "steam-rolling the economy" problem sorted.I would recommend playing a few games without them to get a better feel of the game and more relaxed pace then when you feel you would like a challenge, well they are waiting for you....
It was fun luring them into traps and then salvaging their weapons and turning their own weapons against them on UAF ships :D I had a cruiser frame kitted out with some of their stupidly powerful energy cannons and it was going toe-to-toe with their ships every battle (cept the dreadnaughts... god those are chonky).The Emperor is a beast ship for sure, chonky lol I like that description. I have it's deployment points set very high so it won't have many escorts in order to make it manageable but if you see one in the incoming fleet and you don't have some big boys on your own, running is not the worst idea :)
I moved UAF home systems into the path of the Hiver Invasions fleets for when I want a more relaxed game and its worked quite well. Its a bit of a dance to keep them far enough away from the core to not get distracted by the Legios, but they're very good at occupying the Hivers while I finish off the Heg.Yea that is a strategy I have read on reddit. UAF is very strong and can go toe to toe with them apparently. I should give it an install at some point and see for myself.
Im so far removed from vanilla that I'm unsure if this is Vanilla or a mod conflict,OH yea I am moded to the gills myself, I actually recommend people have several faction mods installed before trying to take on Hivers, they will roll over the vanilla factions.
but I do constantly get a) Bounty missions and B) Rep Gain from destroying hostile-to-hiver fleets. While its not a an earth shattering problem and can be resolved with a quick setreputation command, it does feel weird to be +80 Rep with the Hivers after finishing off a different villain faction.Hmm I am scratching my head on that one, I have all kinds of rep blockers in to prevent a rep gain that high. As to them posting bounties, that is because I have them set as a "playable" faction so they will invade and colonize, with that comes some things like bounties that I would rather they did not but that is sort of out my hands. I have code that Harmful Mechanic nicely donated that should auto reset at neutral and go back to vengeful even if you get rep from a bounty to that's a new one for the to-do list.
Is there any way to make their weapons drop-only?I do have them blacklisted on the Prism Freeport trading list so I know they will not show there. As to arms dealers I am not sure if you are referring to the base SS dealers or one of the mod added dealers like SCY's Amity Freeport or Industrial Evolution has (both of which I also have a blacklist for) so if there is another mod that has them that I am unaware of I'll look into blocking it. When you say an empty BP I am not sure what you mean by that. I have gotten their BP from research stations and in fighting them and was able to learn the designs like any other BP.
In the current default setting you will only get empty hiver bp in exploration yet their weapons can be purchased from illegal arms dealers.
Thank you for your feedback and any clarity you could give would be appreciated so I can better answer your questions.
I have seen Hiver ships (usually the big haulers plus one or two other ships) in every Illegal Arms Dealer in bars (base game). I honestly haven't checked weapons as I picked up every (I believe) Hiver weapon pack in the first 3-4 hours of gameplay from exploration, along with most of the ships... "Vanilla" install of the mod. Not sure if this would be possible, but I suggest unless the user flips the mod to be a playable faction (per your post), the weapons/blueprint packs are removed from loot/arms dealer tables and the ships are set to unsalvageable. Alien bio tech and all.
Can do. I did see another potential option for the bombardment. I went to bombard a pirate base to wipe it out and noticed the Hivers and MVS factions had such an intense hatred they would overlook the atrocity... Not sure if that is something you could set for the other factions?I currently have them flagged as caring about atrocities as a way of keeping the player hatred flowing. However if you are already hated by Hivers then there is a a point where they could not hate you more than Vengeful so bomb away! I am not sure what you mean by setting it for other factions though so some clarity on that point would be appreciated.
Can do. I did see another potential option for the bombardment. I went to bombard a pirate base to wipe it out and noticed the Hivers and MVS factions had such an intense hatred they would overlook the atrocity... Not sure if that is something you could set for the other factions?I currently have them flagged as caring about atrocities as a way of keeping the player hatred flowing. However if you are already hated by Hivers then there is a a point where they could not hate you more than Vengeful so bomb away! I am not sure what you mean by setting it for other factions though so some clarity on that point would be appreciated.
Sorry for the late reply. I was wondering if it was possible to somehow set the other factions to detest hivers so they would overlook orbital bombardments against the hivers.Not a problem, I appreciate the clarity, it helps. Well I have the hivers hate everyone and they are set to an "Evil" temperament that all the "good" and "neutral" factions will automatically hate them but the "evil" factions like Legio seem to like them at first. I plan to a deep dive on Hivers this weekend I opened a good block of time to do some research. Of course Alex just posted some dev notes so some of that time will be trying to prepare for what's next for SS. :)
On a separate note: I believe I found a bug.Found a bug? of course you did they are an insectoid race! :P
I had unlocked the hiver blueprints (everything except wings and small ships) from research station finds. But there is no BioTech category in weapons for me to manufacture the weapons on my colonies, the ships (and fighters when I tested that) show up fine. I planned on tweaking the files for the next game but this game I am kind of just going nuts for fun.Quick clarity question, are you using the Industrial Evolution mod for manufacturing?
Edit: The weapons show up fine for arms dealers.Looking into how the arms dealers work is part of my punch list for the weekend. I just got out a CJHM update out and I need to slap together a hotfix for CFT tomorrow but I do plan to have the Hiver's economy issues ironed out by Monday.
Sorry for the late reply. I was wondering if it was possible to somehow set the other factions to detest hivers so they would overlook orbital bombardments against the hivers.Not a problem, I appreciate the clarity, it helps. Well I have the hivers hate everyone and they are set to an "Evil" temperament that all the "good" and "neutral" factions will automatically hate them but the "evil" factions like Legio seem to like them at first. I plan to a deep dive on Hivers this weekend I opened a good block of time to do some research. Of course Alex just posted some dev notes so some of that time will be trying to prepare for what's next for SS. :)On a separate note: I believe I found a bug.Found a bug? of course you did they are an insectoid race! :PI had unlocked the hiver blueprints (everything except wings and small ships) from research station finds. But there is no BioTech category in weapons for me to manufacture the weapons on my colonies, the ships (and fighters when I tested that) show up fine. I planned on tweaking the files for the next game but this game I am kind of just going nuts for fun.Quick clarity question, are you using the Industrial Evolution mod for manufacturing?Edit: The weapons show up fine for arms dealers.Looking into how the arms dealers work is part of my punch list for the weekend. I just got out a CJHM update out and I need to slap together a hotfix for CFT tomorrow but I do plan to have the Hiver's economy issues ironed out by Monday.
Thank you for the update
At least they don't suddenly show up late early game, deploy gates in two dozen systems, and then move said systems worth of resources back to their homeworld....Nex put a time limit on when invasions can happen so you are fairly safe early game. Personally I find I have time to form an exploration fleet, amasses some wealth, find a decent planet to colonize and build up a defense fleet with some decent officers before they start invading in mass.
I am not currently using Industrial Evolution, but I plan to on my next game (probably after the next SS patch hits and the mods are updated). The only mods I am using that affect colonies (that I am aware of) are 'Nexerelin', 'Slightly Better Techmining', 'Modified Industry Requirements - No Pollution', and 'Dynamic Tariffs'. I have ~ 75 or so active mods currently.That helps thanks again for taking the time to give even more clarity.
Personally, I am in no rush for an update/bugfix since applying other recent mod updates would break my savegame. It currently looks like the Hivers have been curbstomped pretty hard and only have one homeworld remainingWell I do plan to do an update this weekend but after that unless there is a crash error or something that needs my attention, I plan to let all my mods sit tight until there is more information on the next SS release date. I looked over the Dev notes and it looks like SS is up for some major renovations and I am looking forward to it as a player but no so much as a mod creator (work work work) :)
Ah yes! This mod! I've created several portraits representing the Hive from "borrowed" image sources!Good morning, these look very nice and I can certainly incorporate them into the mod. I only ask where were they borrowed from? I make sure I only use free to use assets and just want to give credit where it is due.
Ah yes! This mod! I've created several portraits representing the Hive from "borrowed" image sources!Good morning, these look very nice and I can certainly incorporate them into the mod. I only ask where were they borrowed from? I make sure I only use free to use assets and just want to give credit where it is due.
They're Shirrens! Alien insectoid bug creatures from Starfinder. It's a RPG game developed by Paizo Publishing. I'm sure you can use these aliens under fair use since they're not Hasbro!OK thank you for the clarity, I was unfamiliar with the property. I looked into it and they have very strict rules about using their IP. They have a very in depth page on their website that outlines their legal policies and though I think those portraits are very nice, I do not think I could legally incorporate them in a third party use without their implicit permission.
Going to be honest with you chief, I was under the impression their constant invasion everywhere was the point of this mod!Indeed that is the core concept. It is meant for players that want a combat challenge harder than pirates but not quite as hard as going against Ordo grand fleets. I do however want to make the mod as acceptable as possible to all types of play styles. Be assured that in my quest to balance the economy versus the challenge, challenge takes precedence.
They're Shirrens! Alien insectoid bug creatures from Starfinder. It's a RPG game developed by Paizo Publishing. I'm sure you can use these aliens under fair use since they're not Hasbro!OK thank you for the clarity, I was unfamiliar with the property. I looked into it and they have very strict rules about using their IP. They have a very in depth page on their website that outlines their legal policies and though I think those portraits are very nice, I do not think I could legally incorporate them in a third party use without their implicit permission.
TLDR: Thank you so much for the submission and I think they would be a great addition, I do not think I could legally use them.Going to be honest with you chief, I was under the impression their constant invasion everywhere was the point of this mod!Indeed that is the core concept. It is meant for players that want a combat challenge harder than pirates but not quite as hard as going against Ordo grand fleets. I do however want to make the mod as acceptable as possible to all types of play styles. Be assured that in my quest to balance the economy versus the challenge, challenge takes precedence.
@all interested on a quick update on patch progress: I have several player requested fixes in and ready for release so the weekend wasn't a total scrub. On the economy front, rather then going with the failed hours of testing different economy setups, I had the brilliant idea of seeing if I could just have Hivers just not show up on the market tab. That being said, I have a query out to Jaghaimo on the Stelnet forum to see how to go about doing it so fingers crossed, I can have an update out soon(tm) :)
Need some help, don't want to have to disable this mod and never actually invaded their homeworlds before so never noticed if this was an issue from other mods as their fleets don't seem to have these issues.I appreciate you taking the time to rely your findings and I will do my best to help.
1) Cannot invade Hiver planets or Stations. I can do the invasion, send troops, lose them and their resources but after the first cycle, it completely resets the invasion as if they were never attacked. Other factions seem to have this same issue trying to attack them.I am not sure what could be causing that. I have invaded their planets and NPC fleets have invaded them as well in my games. I do not have the same mods enabled that you do so maybe the answer lies there.
2) Orbital Stations are unreasonably resilient. I've spent over 20 minutes of non stop bombardments with a dedicated anti-shield and anti-hull fleet averaging around 170k damage per second from the entire fleet and I cannot eliminate their stations at all without using weapons which completely ignore shields since their shields never seem to get destroyed.Now that one is a true pickle. I purposely did not make Hiver stations since I thought that would be too OP. They use standard vanilla high tech stations, the larger planets have battle stations and they can be difficult but they should be no different than fighting a tri-tachyon planet.
Weirdly none of their fleets seem to have this issue and no other faction has these issues. I am not using any cheat commands other than Debug, and even playing with Debug disabled does not alter the outcome.
The only thing that could potentially be affecting it to my knowledge is Quality Captains but I didn't modify any of the values. All the modifications to config files were to economics and additional structures being enabled for terraforming. The base files were altered to increase fleet size and deployment costs, this shouldn't be causing effective immortality to shields though and if it did, it should be reproducible in more than just one faction.I use Quality Captains as well so I do not think it is that. I have not altered fleet size and deployment on my end though so I would assume that would effect fights. Have you tried setting them to default values before an invasion to see if there was a difference?
At this point, about to just disable the mod entirely as it's the only one having such weird issues and it makes fighting the faction entirely impossible as I can't get rid of any of their planets or stations without cheating by just deleting every one of their structures to force it to reset the ownership.I an sorry that the mod caused so much grief and off hand I do not have a good answer as to why that is happening in your game.
Tested with and without all the mods in here, even when by itself I have these issues.
Even though I have 105 enabled vs your 62, it seems you have the following that I do not:
"PAGSM", "yunruindustries", "diyplanets", "exoticatechnologies", "gundam_uc", "kyeltziv", "officerExtension", "pn", "Polaris_Prime", "progressiveSMods", "Seafood", "shadow_ships", "mayu_specialupgrades", "sw", "swf", "alcoholism", "uaf", (all the yunru mods), and lastly "mir_np".
Most of these I recognize but some of them I do not and will need to take some time to see what they do. I know my mods have had issues with yunru's in the past which is why I disabled them but that was some time back and I never got around to re-enabling them so it may lay in there. Either way I'll do my best to go though the difference and try and help figure this out. I'll get back to you when I am done if I find anything.
I believe the issue you are facing is due to Exotica Technologies being able to buff AI NPC fleets. Hiver worlds are constantly being invaded by NPC factions including the Remnant and their stations and ships see a lot of combat. My best guess is that the stations are given these modifications over time as they are in combat and you are facing some super Exotica buffed ships and stations by the time you get around to fighting them.
Also, I think the reason you are not seeing this effect on other NPC planets is because their stations see no where near the combat Hiver planets do since the entire sector is gunning for them. (In my current game XLU just took one of their planets and that was a first for me - go blue!)
I wish I could give you an exact answer but that is my best educated guess. I hope it helps.
I did a clean install of Starsector to help narrow it down without Exotica and I can confirm that this was the case. Not sure why it is causing issues of all things, but this seems to have fixed it. Very weird...Oh good, I am glad we figured it out. It also helps if someone else is having the same issue now I have an answer for them. Still working on the economy thing, hopefully I'll get an answer from Jaghaimo soon.
Thanks again for the help.
Playing with this mod I find out that after I research blueprint for weapons and ships I can't produce weapons but ships can, is this intended, or do I need to do something else to produce them?I am not sure why that would be the case. I have no restriction put in on making them if you have the learned BP. I'll check on my end tomorrow and see if it happens to me.
Is it normal that some of the Bio weapon sell for 25k and more ?I had set their weapons at such a high price initially as a way to offset people's fleet losses fighting them. It was pointed out to me that they are still too high so in the upcoming patch I lowered them. Just waiting to see if there is a way to omit Hiver from the market on Stelnet but it looks like the mod author has been MIA awhile. I'm still looking for a way to do it but if I can't figure it out by Friday, I'll just release what I do have done.
Playing with this mod I find out that after I research blueprint for weapons and ships I can't produce weapons but ships can, is this intended, or do I need to do something else to produce them?I figured out what I did or I should say forgot to do. I originally had their assets unrecoverable since their technology is alien. Since then I had several requests to make them recoverable and that is the default with unrecoverable being an optional file. When I made that change I forgot to remove their weapons from the Industrial Evolution blacklist which will be fixed in the upcoming update. If you would like to do it yourself in the mean time then navigate to Hiver Swarm 1.03\data\indEvo\custom_order_blacklist.csv now open the file and remove the word HIVER from the first column line 11. Or just wait till Friday :)
I'll just avoid taking the weapons after the battle.Fair enough. I try my best to accommodate all playstyles with this mod and there is an optional file in the RAR that makes their weapons unrecoverable. You can enable that (instructions on the forum OP) and it would be less bother. FYI: Friday I will be releasing an update that lowers the current prices if that helps.
I figured out what I did or I should say forgot to do. I originally had their assets unrecoverable since their technology is alien. Since then I had several requests to make them recoverable and that is the default with unrecoverable being an optional file. When I made that change I forgot to remove their weapons from the Industrial Evolution blacklist which will be fixed in the upcoming update. If you would like to do it yourself in the mean time then navigate to Hiver Swarm 1.03\data\indEvo\custom_order_blacklist.csv now open the file and remove the word HIVER from the first column line 11. Or just wait till Friday :)
Great to hear that and thanks for replying, I guess j would wait, cause I don't like to mess with code, and another question, do i need to start a new game or it would be ok with existing save?Depending on how the economy changes turn out it may not be but as it stands with the current changes, the update is save compatible. I'll know more tomorrow and will state if it requires a new game.
I think the player should not be able to loot ship/weapons from the hiver swarm. Maybe the hiver's fleet could drop something else like metal and fuel base on the size of the fleet.Hello there thank you for the input. I do have optional files in the RAR that make their ships and/or weapons unrecoverable as well as the BP for them. The instructions on how to enable them are on the forum OP. I could think up a custom commodity for them but there would be no guarantee their ships would carry it. It is food for thought though, thank you for the idea.
Nice! Is this save compatible if I upgrade?Hello there - Yes it is fully compatible with a 1.03 (previous version) save and can be installed with a save going as far back as version .90 though some features would be omitted if you go that far back. Enjoy!
v1.04 released today - 1.03 save game compatibleHello again,
Oh, and blueprints saying that I already researched them (I'm not) but without list of weaponsFound file called special_items.csv
Found file called special_items.csvGuess something wrong in plugin params, because in 2 to 5 row, they are different, but for all weapons it is the same
Guess something wrong there, but really don't know what
Thank you for taking the time to investigate, it helped me easily diagnose what the issue is. In 1.03 I changed the filing system for their weapon bps from small medium and large to missile, pulse, plasma and beam to make their full weapon lineup harder to obtain. Thing is I changed it in two of the three areas but not special_items.csv - a forest for the trees error that sometimes crops up being a solo mod dev.Found file called special_items.csvGuess something wrong in plugin params, because in 2 to 5 row, they are different, but for all weapons it is the same
Guess something wrong there, but really don't know what
hey man great mod im enjoying it so far :) i have a suggestion tho how about adding rare hull mod drop from hivers something like bio hull regen type of thing or bio ammo replicator ? bio ammo loader ? bio cloak ? type of stuff to give u few ideas it would make hunting them more fun too :DThank you so much for the kind words, I am glad to hear you are enjoying the mod. I had tinkered with the idea you propose as it had been suggested by other players. I do want to keep the regen hull mod Hiver specific. It is their biggest strength when it comes to their hit and run tactics and it is due to their organic hull technology which lore wise would not work on Corvus ships.
I'm the only one that can't see any ships when I start game as Hivers? I did follow all instructions as intended and still no use, then I did to set them in markets my self with no avail. I didn't head this problem with V1.01 of this mod. There just isn't any ships on market as I did see in Ship.data that ship cost min 4 and max 6 cash? I would love if mod dev solved this problem and repost mod. Or give instructions how to fix it or just make 2 separate downloads? I really love this mod I even still have V0.97 Those ships were just OP back then.I think I understand your issue and apologize. If my understanding is correct then that it is an error on my end. Correct me if I am wrong: You followed the instructions to make them playable and you are playing as a Hiver. I think your concern is that you can no longer buy their ships at Hiver markets. IF that is the case that I believe the issue is that when I put in the block to not have them show up on the black market or Arms Dealer. Since you are are already comfortable opening ship.data then you can fix this yourself instead of waiting for me to put in a fix.
You got it correct I play with Hivers in game all the time. I was planning to start new game as Hivers with new update v1.04a follow all instructions as file say with no avail. Can You duple check just in case? Sorry about my grammar its my 3rd lang, I would fix it my self gowever all the ships maxprice and minprice are 6 and 4 credits even in rar I did just download. I know how to do it but I don't know the right price of things I know I won't do economy any justice like that.I'm the only one that can't see any ships when I start game as Hivers? I did follow all instructions as intended and still no use, then I did to set them in markets my self with no avail. I didn't head this problem with V1.01 of this mod. There just isn't any ships on market as I did see in Ship.data that ship cost min 4 and max 6 cash? I would love if mod dev solved this problem and repost mod. Or give instructions how to fix it or just make 2 separate downloads? I really love this mod I even still have V0.97 Those ships were just OP back then.I think I understand your issue and apologize. If my understanding is correct then that it is an error on my end. Correct me if I am wrong: You followed the instructions to make them playable and you are playing as a Hiver. I think your concern is that you can no longer buy their ships at Hiver markets. IF that is the case that I believe the issue is that when I put in the block to not have them show up on the black market or Arms Dealer. Since you are are already comfortable opening ship.data then you can fix this yourself instead of waiting for me to put in a fix.
First make a backup on ship_data.csv in a separate folder as a failsafe. Then open the file and navigate to column AV which is labeled "tags" look for the lines: no_dealer, no_sell and delete them for every ship you would like to be sold and save. The same would be for weapons so go to data\weapons\weapon_data.csv and following the above instructions, navigate to column AI "tags" and do the same. Run the game and if it fixes the problem you can either keep or delete your backup files. If it does does not work then just reenable your backup files. Either way please let me know if I have correctly addressed your concern and if my solution works.
I hope that helps and I thank you for taking the time to being this to my attention. Sorry for not considering this scenario when I made the change and I'll try to have a fix in soon.
Calopteryx is a medium carrier yet requiring 58 DP to deploy?Hello there thank you for the notice. Nope that is a fat finger oversight on my part, it is supposed to be 38 which is just below their battle carrier as it is a cruiser sized ship. I'll give it a fix for the next update sorry about that. Guess I should look over all of them for any other oopsies. I am almost done a CJHM update which I want to bang out today but I should be done going over HIVER stats and have a hotfix no later than tomorrow.
Is this intended or error?
I am loving this mod but have noticed an issue with the phase ships, and it not counting as a phase ship for the purposes of reducing your fleets sensor profile. I am running with the purchaseable ship data just incase thats causing the problem.Well that is so nice to hear, I am glad you are having fun with it! - I'll look into the phase concern, no idea atm why that would happen.
There is also a typo with the "Eyes" class ship where the tooltip says "The Eyes is the Hiver's only phase capital ship and is as deadly as it is distracting." The problem is that the "Eyes" is a cruiser not a capital ship.Good catch on the eyes, it was originally a capital ship but with the graphics and balance pass I downgraded it but did not note the description.
OK so I went looking for what might cause it and I think I have found it. The modded phase ships have the phase cloaks that define a phase ship in combat but they are missing the Phase field hull mod which is the thing that reduces a fleets sensor profile.I sort of did that on purpose since I figured they aren't exactly sneaky sneaks :) When I made those ships I had them strictly AI controlled and it was not until several requests later that I added the option to make them playable. Thank you for saving me the investigation time and looking into it on your own. I'll add it to the to-do list and make the change for the next update.
If you start with a very small fleet, their expansion can be a bit aggressive. If there is a way to delay their appearance or slow them down a bit initially, that would improve this mod quite a bit (in my opinion)Hmm I am unsure tbh, they are meant to be played with several mod factions in game to keep them busy while the player builds up so I would not want to delay it too long. Best I can say at this stage is I'll look into it tomorrow when I have some time. I know there is a built in delay as a part of Nex's code that was put in a couple patches back that delayed the start of all invasions so I'll start with that and see.
Hi, so I was testing your Hivers mod and ran into a few problems which I dont know if they where intended or bugs:Good morning, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I will address them one at a time but first a second cup of coffee I think :)
1. Saturation Bombardment turns the DuskSeekers hostile (https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=15820.0 (https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=15820.0)), all other factions I had installed were fine with itSecrets of the Frontier is a must have in my gameplay so I am familiar with the Dust Keepers. They are set as a "good" morality faction and care quite a bit about atrocities committed against any faction. Inventor Racoon even put a note in their code ( "caresAboutAtrocities":true, # kind of their whole job )
2. Hiver mining fleets have Vanilla ships in themI do have it in the first page description of the faction that they do use captured Corvus sector ships. Now as to the code reason, Nex will assign ships to any faction for a mining fleet and will first pull from a factions list of mining ships. Thing is, I never set them up with mining ships or mining weapons. Now that you point it out though it does seem like a bit of an oversight on my part. I'll give some of their ships mining stats and assign them to be used in mining fleets in the next update to address this, thank you.
3. Hivers are giving me quests for exploration an surveying things, so they come accross as just one more faction instead of an actual threadI've looked into that in the past but there is not much I can do about that I am afraid. I have to set them up as a "playable" faction in order for them to colonize and invade. I would essentially have to re-write the NEX code to a custom version and well I am no where near as skilled as Histidine. It bothers me as well so if anyone reading this knows of an easier way that I have overlooked, please share.
4. Their loot incluedes their weapons that have an insane damage to flux ratio for energy weapons (0.3 flux/damage, to 1.x flux/damage on usual mod factions), that kinda leads to the player getting very strong once he starts to fight the hiversWell that is a matter of player choice. I find that some want that OP feeling and others not so much so I have an optional file that a player can enable to have HIVER weapons not drop or be available for sale anywhere. The instructions on how to enable that is on the forum OP and in a README file in the mod's RAR.
5. I can loot their ships by default, which again makes the player powerspike quite hardSee above regarding weapons, I also have an option to make their ships unrecoverable for the same reasons.
I havent tried watching their expansion rate since that would take a lot of time, but the only dangerous ships are their fighters. So when I send in 7 Timeless Motherships Retrofits from Thalan Shipworks they cleaned up all Hiver systems pretty quickly, so I guess they seem balanced for a mod faction that is supposed to be a thread?I have their power level set to fend off invasions and to eventually take over a vanilla sector. If you have faction mods installed (highly recommended) it will slow down their expansion or even stop it if you use one of the more OP factions like UAF. Now to your second point, Timeless is one of the most powerful ships in a modded starsector playthrough. You are essentially pitting a boss fleet of ships vs a boss faction. For me to tune them to survive against that level of threat would make anyone not using such a fleet near impossible to take them on.
Overall feels like a nice mod.Thank you for the nice comment I appreciate it.
"caresAboutAtrocities":true is true for almost any faction, but they all where fine with me saturation bombing the Hivers, since they all start out hostile to the Hivers, even the UAF was fine with it.1. Saturation Bombardment turns the DuskSeekers hostile (https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=15820.0 (https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=15820.0)), all other factions I had installed were fine with itSecrets of the Frontier is a must have in my gameplay so I am familiar with the Dust Keepers. They are set as a "good" morality faction and care quite a bit about atrocities committed against any faction. Inventor Racoon even put a note in their code ( "caresAboutAtrocities":true, # kind of their whole job )
Saturation Bombardment is considered an atrocity and they as well as any faction with a "good" mortality (not many are) combined with the above true flag with take a dim view on anyone who does it.
No idea, I just now asked Histidine since I was already perstering him about capping the exp generated from colony income, lets see what he responds.3. Hivers are giving me quests for exploration an surveying things, so they come accross as just one more faction instead of an actual threadI've looked into that in the past but there is not much I can do about that I am afraid. I have to set them up as a "playable" faction in order for them to colonize and invade. I would essentially have to re-write the NEX code to a custom version and well I am no where near as skilled as Histidine. It bothers me as well so if anyone reading this knows of an easier way that I have overlooked, please share.
This is me being just noisy, but balancing the weapon to default mod flux/damage ratio and then giving the ships a hullmod that reduces weapon flux cost might be a better solution since it enables you and the player to use all weapons they want on the ships and not be stuck raiding the bugs system forever.4. Their loot incluedes their weapons that have an insane damage to flux ratio for energy weapons (0.3 flux/damage, to 1.x flux/damage on usual mod factions), that kinda leads to the player getting very strong once he starts to fight the hiversWell that is a matter of player choice. I find that some want that OP feeling and others not so much so I have an optional file that a player can enable to have HIVER weapons not drop or be available for sale anywhere. The instructions on how to enable that is on the forum OP and in a README file in the mod's RAR.
I havent tried watching their expansion rate since that would take a lot of time, but the only dangerous ships are their fighters. So when I send in 7 Timeless Motherships Retrofits from Thalan Shipworks they cleaned up all Hiver systems pretty quickly, so I guess they seem balanced for a mod faction that is supposed to be a thread?I have their power level set to fend off invasions and to eventually take over a vanilla sector. If you have faction mods installed (highly recommended) it will slow down their expansion or even stop it if you use one of the more OP factions like UAF. Now to your second point, Timeless is one of the most powerful ships in a modded starsector playthrough. You are essentially pitting a boss fleet of ships vs a boss faction. For me to tune them to survive against that level of threat would make anyone not using such a fleet near impossible to take them on.
Re: 3I already have and Histidine gave me permission to modify the code. I did try but it was above my skill level to integrate it into the mod. I may give it another go since that was some time ago but thank you for the suggestion.
Could always ask Histidine if they could add such a thing, or if they could point you toward how to do it?
"caresAboutAtrocities":true is true for almost any faction, but they all where fine with me saturation bombing the Hivers, since they all start out hostile to the Hivers, even the UAF was fine with it.Well I do have code that sets any faction that approaches neutral to automatically reset it to vengeful which *should* be applicable to them. What I can try is to set the Dust Keepers faction ID in the HIVER config file to start off at vengeful and to go no higher than hostile. I'll add that to the mod for the next update as well.
What I think is happening is that since DustKeepers isnt a listed Faction for the player, when the Hiver mod sets all factions to be hostile to the Hivers, it does skip the DustKeepers.
No idea, I just now asked Histidine since I was already perstering him about capping the exp generated from colony income, lets see what he responds.As I stated above I already asked and Histidine was very nice in replying but I was unable at the time to incorporate the suggestion. I'll see if there is a reply on the NEX forum from your query there.
This is me being just noisy, but balancing the weapon to default mod flux/damage ratio and then giving the ships a hullmod that reduces weapon flux cost might be a better solution since it enables you and the player to use all weapons they want on the ships and not be stuck raiding the bugs system forever.Not noisy at all, it is not a bad suggestion and one I had considered. I essentially wound up stat bloating their assets as a way to increase their power level. If I made that kind of change I feel I would upset the players who want those OP assets. Having separate optional files seemed the best way to me to satisfy the broadest player base as I could.
Yes 7 Timeless are strong, but will get destroyed by a tripple Grand Invasion fleet from Legio Infernalis, espicially since my test fleet had no officers. Also Timeless have a surpringly hard time vs Starfortresses. It just comes down to the fact that fittingly the main strength of the Hivers are small fast fighters and whoever can counter this kind of threat wins.Well Legio is tougher boss faction so it stands to reason their fleets would prevail. I did my best to balance the Hiver faction to be able to withstand multiple factions invading their systems but at the same time giving the player a chance to overcome them. I based this on the power level of the vanilla factions and the mod factions that were at slightly above vanilla. I would have to add an entirely new optional to have them be able to withstand factions like Legio or UAF. It is something to consider but that is a bunch of code swapping and would take me awhile. I need to think about this one some more but it is a good observation thank you.
What Im trying to say is that they have no system defenses besides that Starfortress you parked cheekyly infront of the jump point, that looks nice, but doesnt actually work to prevent invasions. They are missing a home defense fleet like other factions have. I jumped into the systems and only ever ended up fighting one fleet at a time even though I went in a strait line for the planet. If its 7 Timeless or my current main campain of 1 Purycella, 2 Nexxy, 2 Reisein, 1 Isonoria, 1 Rillaru and another few ships, the result vs a single fleet will always be the same.That is odd, when I visit their systems there are several Hiver fleets roaming around. I usually have to kite them far out, go dark and sneak back in to invade. I used to Have more fleets roaming around but I received numerous concerns that it made their systems way too difficult. Perhaps I could do soemthing like Industrial Evolution's watchtowers but it's own thing. IDK if I can do that but it is good food for thought.
Hello again,Sorry about that, it is an oversight that I have fixed and pending in the upcoming update. Thank you for taking the time to report it and you are essentially correct in your analysis. When I split the weapons into different BP's as a way of making them less accessible, I neglected to delete the BP that contained them all. The reason it is nearly empty is because I had re-assigned the hiver weapons to their individual BP's so nothing is assigned to the former weapon BP with the exception of the eyes which I decided to not put on a BP at all since it is more a trophy item than a weapon. I have a couple other changes already made for 1.06 as well but I am still trying to figure two more changes, the ability to enable them mid save and to disable them from being the target of bar missions like trade.
so I again found bp from hive and it`s called HIVER Weapon BP, and there is nothing and it again says that I already knew it, so my guess is that weapons from it, you split throughout missle, pulse, plasma, and beam bp, and I guess that nothing left for this bp, or there only omni-something-something which so-called eyes.
Nothing seems to be different in special_items.csv so hoping for your reply.
I am having an issue with blueprint packages for Hiver (latest version) weapons and ships spawning even when I changed the files per the readme so they shouldn't spawn. Unfortunately did this after new sector generation (I had changed it, but I screwed up putting in the alternative ship skins, put in a new copy and forgot to change files again). I changed the files after coming across the first blueprint pack, but just found another. Is this something that will require a sector reroll?Good morning. I am sorry to say that the blueprint alternate file only works on a new game. Once you generate the sector and there are already placed assets well the game says hey cool I'll just put these here and if you remove them the game wonders where they went and has a meltdown. I'll add that to the README and on the forum OP instructions. Sorry about the lack of clarity on that. :(
No worries, it was my fault for forgetting to re-disable them after repairing the mod. I have only lost 2-3 hours of play.OK sorry about not being clear about that. FYI 1.06 is coming out later today and some of the changes require a new game to take effect so you may want to hold off on a new start.
So I made sure I have the do not spawn files in, when I look in the file they are marked as no drop, no sell, restricted/etc and started a new sector. But about the 8th planet I explore, I find a Hiver Weapon BP package. I am not sure what is going on here.Yea a bonehead move on my part that is fixed in 1.06. Essentially I split their weapon BP into different packages as a way of making their weapons less accessible but I neglected to remove the call for the old BP.
I am also a little confused as drop vs no drop have different blueprint setups. Drop has it broken out into three weapon blueprints, the no drop has all weapons in one blueprint.See above, similar issue just me being lazy. :) I figured if they were no drop then what does it matter. That is fixed in 1.06 as well.
Also the Xrrymm-type Hive,HIVER_mirv seems to be missing "missle8, strike2" in the no drop file, while it has them in the base file.Good catch, most likely I oopsied and overwrote that when I added the no drop to that one. Sorry about that, I'll have that fixed as well in the next update.
I have not compared the ships yet.I'd be interested in seeing your feedback. I plan to have the update out later today, just need to run a new game for a couple hours as a final test. So if you have any observations regarding oopsies/changes/updates before then, perhaps I can fit any into 1.06
No worries, it was my fault for forgetting to re-disable them after repairing the mod. I have only lost 2-3 hours of play.OK sorry about not being clear about that. FYI 1.06 is coming out later today and some of the changes require a new game to take effect so you may want to hold off on a new start.So I made sure I have the do not spawn files in, when I look in the file they are marked as no drop, no sell, restricted/etc and started a new sector. But about the 8th planet I explore, I find a Hiver Weapon BP package. I am not sure what is going on here.Yea a bonehead move on my part that is fixed in 1.06. Essentially I split their weapon BP into different packages as a way of making their weapons less accessible but I neglected to remove the call for the old BP.I am also a little confused as drop vs no drop have different blueprint setups. Drop has it broken out into three weapon blueprints, the no drop has all weapons in one blueprint.See above, similar issue just me being lazy. :) I figured if they were no drop then what does it matter. That is fixed in 1.06 as well.Also the Xrrymm-type Hive,HIVER_mirv seems to be missing "missle8, strike2" in the no drop file, while it has them in the base file.Good catch, most likely I oopsied and overwrote that when I added the no drop to that one. Sorry about that, I'll have that fixed as well in the next update.I have not compared the ships yet.I'd be interested in seeing your feedback. I plan to have the update out later today, just need to run a new game for a couple hours as a final test. So if you have any observations regarding oopsies/changes/updates before then, perhaps I can fit any into 1.06
Thank you for the update and your patience.
"missile8, strike2, hivermweapon_bp,no_drop, restricted, no_dealer, no_sell"
"missile8, strike2,,no_drop, restricted, no_dealer, no_sell"
Hmm that is odd, I did not have that happen when I tested it but to be fair I did not play very long with it enabled. Were you using the new update 1.06 when it happened? According to the code that I used it *should* prevent that but I'll do some digging an check my information, lord knows it is scant :)
Ahh ok, thank you for the clarity. I took your earlier comments to heart and put in some fixes in 1.06. When you decide to update please let me know if any issues are still occurring.Hmm that is odd, I did not have that happen when I tested it but to be fair I did not play very long with it enabled. Were you using the new update 1.06 when it happened? According to the code that I used it *should* prevent that but I'll do some digging an check my information, lord knows it is scant :)
No, I was waiting for your response before firing up. This was happening on 1.05. I will just throw together a quick sector and burn exploration for an hour or two (after a nap) via console commands for supplies/fuel/combat to see what happens with 1.06.
Blueprint packages still drop in 1.06 with the unrecoverable settings used. I think to prevent them from dropping, the special_items.csv may need to be deleted/renamed and the bp callout in the hulls/weapons csv files removed, That way there are no blueprint packages to spawn, the game won't spawn empty packages, and the game won't be looking for packages that don't exist (I think that covers all bases for potential errors/issues instead of doing just one of those options?). I am going to give that a spin and see what happens.Good to know, I have not looked into it yet as I just got done a marathon session hiver update and need to rest my brain :) Nice of you to do the testing, please let me know if that works and I'll add it to the instructions.
Blueprint packages still drop in 1.06 with the unrecoverable settings used. I think to prevent them from dropping, the special_items.csv may need to be deleted/renamed and the bp callout in the hulls/weapons csv files removed, That way there are no blueprint packages to spawn, the game won't spawn empty packages, and the game won't be looking for packages that don't exist (I think that covers all bases for potential errors/issues instead of doing just one of those options?). I am going to give that a spin and see what happens.Good to know, I have not looked into it yet as I just got done a marathon session hiver update and need to rest my brain :) Nice of you to do the testing, please let me know if that works and I'll add it to the instructions.
I buzzed around for a while and didn't see any Hiver blueprint packs drop after remove the tags from the ships/weapons csvs and renaming the special items csv. But it wasn't as thorough as I might have liked as I got involved in trying to figure out how to remove the notable ship tag from Tahlan's Tramtanzer >_>.Well that is the nuclear option for sure :) Thank you for the testing and input I've been a bit busy r/l to look into it yet but I do plan to and should have some time Monday.
I buzzed around for a while and didn't see any Hiver blueprint packs drop after remove the tags from the ships/weapons csvs and renaming the special items csv. But it wasn't as thorough as I might have liked as I got involved in trying to figure out how to remove the notable ship tag from Tahlan's Tramtanzer >_>.Well that is the nuclear option for sure :) Thank you for the testing and input I've been a bit busy r/l to look into it yet but I do plan to and should have some time Monday.
Yeah it is a bit nuclear, but it was the safest option with the little i know about coding. Besides, all I do is (other than removing the bp package tag from the uncrecoverable files, is rename the special_items.csv to specialitems.csvold.I enabled the no-drop and have been playing for a couple hours and have not had a hiver BP drop yet. Of course that is my subjective experience and not a scientific method result so I'll ask around regarding the code I use and make sure I have it correct. I hesitate to go your route as that could cause complications and I want to make sure I am giving correct instructions before I add to the README.
Hiver phase ship are peak annoying.Good afternoon, thank you for taking the time to give a detailed description, it really does help me. The phase ships were recently added at the request of a few players. Though I did test them, I am sure they could use a balance pass since I am not a fan of phase ships in general and do not use them personally. I'll check in with the people who requested them and do some testing for balance on my own.
They have phase that cost nothing to use, giant Flux so they can phase indefinitely.
Have ton of hull and armor so they can tank even if you deal some lucky hit.
Worst is they can regen their hull quicky so they never die.
Worst still are they are almost always piloted by officer.
More often then not I can only wait for their CR to run out in battle.
This annoyinginess pair with other ship that port heavy armor big hull invincible shield that also never die, are criminal.
Ah.Good morning again! I am glad I caught it before too much time had passed sorry about that. I do try to release save game compatible updates but when I break something so catastrophically well it sort of needed to be. I am glad to hear you are willing to start a new game and not just uninstall the mod though :)
***. I came to check if anyone was having some problems with the Hivers, since all three of their far reaching planets pinged as Deteriorating at the same time. Seems like I've got to start a new campaign all over again.
v1.07 released today -Save game compatible but if you started a new game with 1.06 then a new 1.07 game is required if you want them to invade, sorry everyone for the hassle.
Essentially by taking them off the market in 1.06 it gutted their economy and their ability to afford and field large invasion fleets, I am so sorry for not testing for this. I spent so many hours trying to figure out how to fulfill the request to get them off Stelnet and was so happy when I finally did that it never occurred to me that this would be a side effect. There are other player requested changes that can be seen in the changelog located in the RAR and on the forum OP but that is the major one.
Nice! I am glad it worked out for someone at least :)v1.07 released today -Save game compatible but if you started a new game with 1.06 then a new 1.07 game is required if you want them to invade, sorry everyone for the hassle.
Essentially by taking them off the market in 1.06 it gutted their economy and their ability to afford and field large invasion fleets, I am so sorry for not testing for this. I spent so many hours trying to figure out how to fulfill the request to get them off Stelnet and was so happy when I finally did that it never occurred to me that this would be a side effect. There are other player requested changes that can be seen in the changelog located in the RAR and on the forum OP but that is the major one.
Nice, I just wanted to start a new game this weekend so lets see how the changed Hivers are now doing in a quite modded campaign.
v1.07 released today -Save game compatible but if you started a new game with 1.06 then a new 1.07 game is required if you want them to invade, sorry everyone for the hassle.
Essentially by taking them off the market in 1.06 it gutted their economy and their ability to afford and field large invasion fleets, I am so sorry for not testing for this. I spent so many hours trying to figure out how to fulfill the request to get them off Stelnet and was so happy when I finally did that it never occurred to me that this would be a side effect. There are other player requested changes that can be seen in the changelog located in the RAR and on the forum OP but that is the major one.
I may just let them die off then...I just scored some rare blueprints in exploration that I haven't seen in the past three games :S Alternatively, I now know where I am going to colonize 8)Using v1.06 gives you three poorly defended very rich systems to set up a base of operations if you look at it that way. Always a silver lining. :)
I cannot really comment on the quality of the mod itself as I have just installed it.Good morning, thank you for taking the time to reach out. I am aware of the issue and have spent quite some time trying to not have them show on the commodity tab. I thought I had it in the previous patch but the "fix" gutted their internal economy because not only could the player see the commodities, the Hivers couldn't either. I have reached out to a couple scripters but I still have not found a way to do it w/out pulling their teeth.
One thing that came accross very annoying though. When pressing F1 on the cargo window, hiver colonies occupy at least half the screen as either having excess or demand regarding a certain goods. Makes trading very annoying. I am halfway tempted to just remove the mod.. : /
It would be a shame, as it looked quite promising.
Thanks for the quick reply.I cannot really comment on the quality of the mod itself as I have just installed it.Good morning, thank you for taking the time to reach out. I am aware of the issue and have spent quite some time trying to not have them show on the commodity tab. I thought I had it in the previous patch but the "fix" gutted their internal economy because not only could the player see the commodities, the Hivers couldn't either. I have reached out to a couple scripters but I still have not found a way to do it w/out pulling their teeth.
One thing that came accross very annoying though. When pressing F1 on the cargo window, hiver colonies occupy at least half the screen as either having excess or demand regarding a certain goods. Makes trading very annoying. I am halfway tempted to just remove the mod.. : /
It would be a shame, as it looked quite promising.
I am sorry to hear that this is a game breaking issue for you but I totally get it and apologize. I have not given up on the idea and it is at the top of my Hiver to-do list but I cannot at this time give any ETA when/if I can have that issue addressed.
So test results until:Good morning! Sounds like they are doing their job, mid game vs vanilla+ is their power level. I had not intended them to be the end game big bad. I was aiming for an enemy to fight when you are first established and pirates are no longer really a threat but Ordo fleets sill make you use your burn drives.
I let the Hivers happily grow until cycle 214.
Their they conquered 5 small planets sprayed over the core, but all size 4 or 5 worlds. --> seems ok in size for a mid game vs vanilla
Their fleets are ok to fight with regular capitalships and a nice amount of PD.
Annoyances:I have them set to not retreat and that applies to all their ships including the logistics. I wouldn't say fighting them is for noting, the larger ones have numerous pd weapons that sell for a pretty penny and you get XP for fighting them.
- supertanker and superfreighter fleets cant be autoresolved which means boring fight vs cargoships and a lot of CR lost for nothing. Please make those cargoships have less FP or whatever the game uses for calculating if autoresolve is possible. (It wasnt that my fleet was small, it was almost max size of pure capital ships)
- why do their fleets have so many logistics vessels (tanker/freighter)The reason they have logistics ships is because their home system is on the edge of the map and they need a ton of supplies and fuel to reach the core with their large invasion fleets. I gave them a capital freighter and tanker because before that their invasion fleets were full of the smaller ones that took space that would be better suited for combat ships.
- they dont feel like a meaneace because they are attacking weak targets in several systems instead of hitting the core with concentrated invasions. In a sense they feel more like cockroaches that pop up again and again in different cornersWell as I stated earlier they are not meant to be an end game threat. If, as you stated earlier, you are using a fleet full of capitals I would say you are more established than the Hivers are intended to be a threat for. Plus if you ignore them for that long then yes they will scatter shot and start off invading the weaker planets in order to build up and if you ignored them even longer they would eventually take over a vanilla sector.
- is there no way to make them stronger besides them having cheap production? Would a credit producing building not do the same? (yes Im refering to the market price indicator being swamped with their products)Their internal economy is not really about credits but in order to satisfy their commodity demands. They are in a sort of unique position in that no one will trade with them so if they need fuel, supplies or anything their planets demand they have to produce it themselves. It took me quite some time to have each system interconnected in a self made economy that could grow and afford so many invasion/defense fleets.
I havent invaded their home system yet,once I have time to do it will let you know how they did.Well with as established as you seem to be then it should not be that hard a challenge. I am working on beefing up their systems but I got sidetracked with some hotfixes. I appreciate the feedback and look forward to hearing your battle report once you do go after them in their current state. Any observations or details you would be willing to share would be helpful in making them a tougher nut to crack.
Regarding the Tanker and Freigters again, would changing their class into Combat Freoghter and Combat Tanker make the AI use them as reinforcements?Oh my you really put some thought into this, thank you so much for clarifying your reasoning. If I were to make them combat freighters/tankers then the game would deploy them in lieu of actual combat ships in the initial wave and since they have a high DP and are rated as capitals I believe it would severely dampen their combat deployments since they are only armed with PD weapons. I would also have to change the settings of fleet usage of freighter use vs combat freighter and the game would weigh them equally with the other smaller combat freighters/tankers when deploying a fleet.
If that would work and as you kill their combat ships the AI starts to trow their logistics ships at you in the same battle, this would
1. fit their no retreat doctrine,
2. make them more of a endless swarm feeling enemy
Do I have to change anything other than the
ship_data.csv in data/hulls
default_ship_roles.json in data\world\factions
to test this?
To explain better why I want this:
Typical invasion fleet having X amount of fleets means X amount of battles with a CR cost per battle of X*15%CR on average depending on shiptype and DP costs on both sides.
A normal ship has 70% CR.
Debuffs start at 50% CR to damage taken increased, damage dealt decreased,slower fighters respawn, reduced maneuverability
At less than 40% CR a ship will have reduced missile magazines (dropping to empty at 10% CR) and will experience temporary, random malfunctions in combat that take weapons, engines or the shields offline
At less than 20% CR a ship will suffer critical malfunctions upon deployment and in combat, which will disable a weapon or engine for the duration of the battle and cause hull damage
CR gets reduced at the end of the battle, so independent of your combat performance:
Fight 1: 70% CR -> all ok
Fight 2: 55% CR -> all ok
Fight 3: 40% CR -> damage taken increased, damage dealt decreased,slower fighters respawn, reduced maneuverability
Fight 4: 25% CR -> damage taken increased, damage dealt decreased,slower fighters respawn, reduced maneuverability, reduced missile magazines, temporary, random malfunctions
Fight 5: 10% CR -> ships are useless
If you look at invasion fleets from most factions, there usually are around 2-3 of them. Which means that the player fleet can fight them in peak condition or close to it.
Now with Hivers this looks a bit different since you have to fight always a second battle against the supply ships. -> So each fleet creates 2 battles. -> each fleet costs 30% CR to fight
This means that that no matter how well you do in battle, you have to sit on top of a friendly planet to fight more than one hiver fleet.
The other option is what Im doing and having a full capital fleet where I can have essentially two battle fleets and hence deal with 2 or 3 fleets without getting ground down purely on basis of CR.
Still with Hiver inasion fleets often having 4 to 5 fleets this means I still have to go back to a station to repair.
It just makes the fighting very restrictive and not fun since it just turns into lets sit on the planet and have a cargoships full of supplies.
@mllhild I started looking into your concern and I noticed an error on my end that I *think* may be the root cause. If you navigate to the Hiver Swarm mod folder data\world\factions and open the file called "HIVER.faction" using notepad++. Scroll down to line 269 "combatFreighterCombatUseFractionWhenPriority" it is currently set to 1 now change it to 0.1 also change line 268 "combatFreighterCombatUseFraction" to 0.1 as well and then save. It will not effect fleets that are already generated in game but it should lower the use of logistics ships when it generates a new fleet. I am still doing testing on it so there is more to be done before I release an update but I figured since you were already doing some testing on your own you may be interested.After testing a bit Im actually quite found of fighting fleets with those huge bugs (logistics ships) mixed in. It also makes for a interresting battlefield due to the large debrie generated.
Suggestion:I've recently started a new game and have been monitoring the Hivers but not fighting them yet since I am still in the early phase. I do see more capital freighters and tankers being used that I expected so there is something going on. I appreciate the break down of your testing and I'll use your data and above suggestion in my deep dive on the mod as a good starting point. I should have some time later this week to give it some focus since it seems my other mods are sitting pretty atm (fingers crossed) :)
- remove the civilian tag from all ships
- Lower the DP of super tanker/freighter to 18, or replace one or two small slots with medium slots on them
- this might influence how they do in autoresolve vs other factions
Honestly love this mod. It's fun, and seems to do what Legio used to do before it became a hell of a lot more passive. My only gripe is Saturation Bombardment and the fact that if they capture something, it seems to destabalized and decivilize quickly; but that's a gripe with Nex. Especially since there's no 'fixing' a dead planet, since all unique buildings that say, a modded faction had on, are gone forever. Still, I do like them.I am glad that you are enjoying the mod so much, so nice to hear.
They're very strong it feels like, but then, I'm not running an all capital fleet. That said, it's turned me off from using the UAF because Holy Hell are their fighters broken. I killed so many bugs!UAF is a well made mod but they are considered a boss faction so using them against a strong mid game faction like Hiver is sort of overkill imo. :)
Doing a new run with Iron Shell and I'm crossing my fingers for the massive grand invasion fleet I got to fight once. They had something like 6 fleets! Actually had to fight and retreat multiple times because of CR which was a uniquely fun fighting strat that takes me back to Total War Warhammer and using missile units (I wish you could recover Reinforced ships after retreating - they should become little salvagable dots on the map for later, darn it!).Iron Shell is a great pick, their strengths are good against Hivers and Timid is a wonderful mod maker so give it some love :)
Out of curiosity, did you ever figure out a way to make them auto detested by other empires so carpet bombing would be ignored?I have them to auto detest everyone by default. Unfortunately I could not figure a way to have everyone initially hate them in reverse. It is still on the Hiver to-do list but I wanted to get this update out ASAP since it involved fixing yet another Dazs boo boo that mllhild was kind enough to help me fix.
Another potential issue, I haven't tested this on anything since 1.04 due to other in game goals in the runs, is they don't seem to rebuild worlds?Well I sort of have them set up that way so they do not overwhelm the sector too fast. Essentially they are a menace that wants the sector to themselves but are only really interested in living in their home systems. Anything they "conquer" is de-civilized and hard to rebuild, sort of a blitzkrieg tactic. It gives the player a chance to re-take lost systems if they take an active role in defeating them. If you ignore them and let the vanilla AI deal with them you'll find yourself in trouble after awhile. However it is a double edged sword if you do take an active role and work toward eliminating them in their home systems, it hampers their ability to re-build. It was the best way I could figure to make them a mid-level threat and leave the end game to the Ordo.
What I had done:
Raid one system take over all planets/stations (using Nexerelin)
During invasion, remove relics/alpha cores
Post invasion, remove remaining AI cores
Final Actions, sell off all buildings and make colonies semi independent (mine but not under my direct control)
Hivers would retake planets within about 1 cycle, but as far as I could tell, they never rebuilt anything and within a few more cycles the worlds and completely de-civilized and were open for colonization.
Does conquering a planet of theirs for another faction mess them up? Or will they be effectively able to recapture their market and fix any economy damage done? I know they have strange behavior when capturing other people's markets, leading to them become decived. But what about their own base places?The thing about Hiver is they are flagged as an "evil" faction so if they conquer a faction's planet that is flagged as "neutral" or "good", which is most of them, then the population will go wild in trying to overthrow the Hivers and it would take them several cycles until it settles down. If the original owner takes it back, the population retains the decived status for quite some time.
I've seen them 'Colonize' on Nex and deciv themselves, which seems like odd behavior.Nex has a system to pick colony fleets based on the settings in each faction mod. They are then placed in a pool of applicants for the next colony fleet. A mod author can effect that to an extent but it is random chance for a faction to be picked by Nex to send a colonization fleet. The odds of having Hiver picked in your game is lessened for each faction mod installed since the pool is widened.
On another note. Assuming they can fix their own starting markets when they've been captured by an enemy, the Nex Conquest Missions should be upped in value somehow, if at all possible. 1 mil to try and fight the outrageous army in an enclosed system is definitely not worth a measely 1 mil. But I'm not sure that's possible, just some considerations.It is a solid idea because they are a harder target then the average faction planet invasion. I am not sure if having a scale based on faction difficulty to payout is doable. That is more a question for Histidine on the Nexerelin thread because I have no clue personally :)
Gotcha. On that note though, I'm not sure if you answered my original question! Or at least, I'm not following. Is it "safe" to do a Conquest mission against Hivers? Can they, reasonably, retake it and then rebuild any changes?OH sorry If I misunderstood your question. Sort of, depending on where the mission is. If it is a planet they conquered or colonized then yes they will try and take it back but if you start going after their initial worlds then they will certainly try. The thing is, I have them set in a closed loop economy since no one will trade with them. This gives them some advantages but one fatal flaw. Once you start taking out their initial planets then you disrupt their supply chain and their ability to build fleets. The more of their planets you take from them the weaker they become. Now depending on how long you gave them to build up, they may have several fleets already out there so it may take a couple tries but eventually the goal is to eliminate the faction.
Or should I avoid messing with them to keep them as a consistent enemy?They are meant to be conquered roughly mid game. If you try to keep them as a consistent enemy too long, well let's just say if left alone they will run rampant over the sector. Depending on how many faction mods you have installed you can ignore them for a bit while you build up but I would not recommend fighting them in their home systems until you are ready to take them on fully. Now you can certainly play tag with them as you build up by going after planets that Hivers have conquered or colonized. What I generally do if I am not quite strong enough to take them on is to play piggyback on a friendly faction that is invading a conquered world and let them tank the fleets and station while I take on the smaller patrols and pick up the scraps. It is a good way to build up levels and story points not to mention credits. :)
If you try to keep them as a consistent enemy too long, well let's just say if left alone they will run rampant over the sector.
QuoteIf you try to keep them as a consistent enemy too long, well let's just say if left alone they will run rampant over the sector.
Are you sure about this? Several years have passed and the hiver has conquered two planets (and promptly lost both) and expanded to one additional planet. I'm not sure what's going on but right now they are getting dribbled on by unmodded persean league and diktat.
Honestly, I have... quite a number of faction mods. The Xhan upon second look, have lost everything but the capital. After a few hours of playing in the strike mission and invasion logs, the most common are Persean, Diktat, and tri-tach. Legio never even raided them (and got crushed by me). Hegemony and Ludd have been too busy fighting an eternal crusade against my AI using ass. Guest appearances in raids from the Lanestate, ORA, Junk Yard, Imperium, and Shadowyards (that usually fail).Well the Xhan are a nicely balanced faction and will eventually succumb to the Hivers which is why I separated them in my initial answer. Their benefit to the sector is that they happen to be directly in the invasion path the Hivers use and, unbeknownst to you, they have been sniping them before you even see them. Legio does not invade them it is just that the Hivers struggle when invading them that they spend so many resources doing so, their other invasion efforts are stunted.
I don't know anything about starsector modding, how factions work, or how you've coded the faction. But with things like Luna Lib out there, would it be possible to enable the user to adjust settings on the Hiver to give them a little extra boost in a more crowded sector?It has been a constant struggle of mine to get them to a good balance structure. I do not want them to be the end game big bad, I'll leave that to the Space Doritos. I feel they are currently good if a player has roughly 6 faction mods installed and they will present a difficult challenge mid game. Now I am aware of LunaLib and use it (what a great mod Lucas04 gave to the community) and I have been meaning to get into incorporating it into my mods. Hiver has so many optional files, it would be nice to have them enabled by LunaLib rather then having to delete and rename files manually but I am not sure if that is a function that can be done since that is a matter of manipulating CSV files and I believe LunaLib modifies Java files. But again, I have not delved too deeply into it and it is on my next round of mod adjustments so stay tuned but no promises that my inept coding can handle that level of awesomeness.
(Or turn them into the Tyranids)Tyranids eh, the Ordo Xenos of the Inquisition has identified your IP and will soon be paying you a visit.
The idea of a hostile faction gradually encroaching, multiplying to more and more planets, and battering down all the factions is something that def changes up the endgame.If left alone they will eventually become the big bad but that takes several cycles and is not really recommended. In my games The Hivers generally start by taking over Lud (path and church) outposts and colonies then branching out from there. Then the other factions take notice and start sending Invasion fleets to try and take them back for themselves but the planets are now decivilized and not very profitable so it can actually cripple a faction's economy to take back Hiver planets. The Hivers are more of a nasty pest that is difficult to weed out once they take hold. It is best to build up your fleet and have a decent colony of your own so you can afford to lose capitals and piggy back on a friendly factions invasion and provide support. Eventually the sector will take back Hiver infested planets and with your help, wipe their initial systems off the map.
But if its a "Lot of work to rework that, you are just using too many factions" situation, that's fine too. Thanks for your work on the mod regardless :)I don't mind the work, I actually enjoy tinkering with the code and learning new things, plus I am retired and have the time. My mods are not done by any stretch but I have been sort of holding off updating them more since the next Star Sector update is impending.
88494 [Thread-3] ERROR com.fs.starfarer.combat.CombatMain - java.lang.RuntimeException: Error loading [data.scripts.HIVERmodPlugin]
java.lang.RuntimeException: Error loading [data.scripts.HIVERmodPlugin]
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.scripts.ScriptStore$3.run(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: File 'data/scripts/util.java', Line 445, Column 0: Non-abstract class "starship_legends.Util$1" must implement method "public abstract int java.util.Comparator.compare(java.lang.Object, java.lang.Object)"
at org.codehaus.janino.JavaSourceClassLoader.generateBytecodes(JavaSourceClassLoader.java:226)
at org.codehaus.janino.JavaSourceClassLoader.findClass(JavaSourceClassLoader.java:178)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)
... 2 more
Caused by: org.codehaus.commons.compiler.CompileException: File 'data/scripts/util.java', Line 445, Column 0: Non-abstract class "starship_legends.Util$1" must implement method "public abstract int java.util.Comparator.compare(java.lang.Object, java.lang.Object)"
at org.codehaus.janino.UnitCompiler.compileError(UnitCompiler.java:10174)
at org.codehaus.janino.UnitCompiler.compile2(UnitCompiler.java:419)
at org.codehaus.janino.UnitCompiler.compile2(UnitCompiler.java:658)
at org.codehaus.janino.UnitCompiler.compile2(UnitCompiler.java:622)
at org.codehaus.janino.UnitCompiler.access$200(UnitCompiler.java:185)
at org.codehaus.janino.UnitCompiler$2.visitAnonymousClassDeclaration(UnitCompiler.java:345)
at org.codehaus.janino.Java$AnonymousClassDeclaration.accept(Java.java:894)
public class HIVERmodPlugin extends BaseModPlugin {
@Override
public void onNewGame() {
boolean haveNexerelin = Global.getSettings().getModManager().isModEnabled("nexerelin");
if (!haveNexerelin || SectorManager.getManager().getCorvusMode()){
new HIVER_gen().generate(Global.getSector());
}
}
Howdy getting ready to jump back in with .96 after @8 months not playing. I noted on the main page that the mod recommends to not play with:Well hello there, I'll explain as best as I can. The mod does work with the RCW option but it has been my experience that by using random core worlds you disable a faction mod's custom systems. In essence it guts the Hivers custom closed loop economy that I made from them which allows them to grow. I did that because they lack any trading partners since they hate all factions and everyone hates them. Withought trade they do not have the resources to build fleets and their planets were chocked and losing population.
"Nexerelin's Random Core Worlds"
Why does it say this? My experience has been: "yes! do play Hiver Swarm with random core worlds"
...in fact I only ever play modded with random core worlds, and Hiver Swarm had been a very interesting addition to the early Nex game. Hivers do really well in systems where they have a starting advantage...but then the other factions begin to fight back.Essentially they will be assigned random worlds in the RCW option but keep the same faction relationships. RCW assigns them a couple random quality planets and they try to trade with each other but the odds of covering all they need are rather low. In my experience trying them with RCW, they were able to have a couple small fleets in system but were not much of a threat to anyone. I received a couple comments/complaints from some players in the past who play RCW with them so I just figured it would best to put a recommendation on the forum OP.
Hanging out in their systems in the early game is a high risk/high reward activity. (I play with Ruthless Sector to limit the classes of derelicts so that it isn't too cheesy) But picking up Hiver weapons early on is really nice...It's funny actually, I fielded a very similar question on discord last week so I planned to add a blurb to the forum OP as to why I do not recommend using RCW and how it changes the mod and makes them a small threat rather than the medium threat advertised. But then 0.96a hit, then Nex updated then I had a crash report for TTSC then I had to update TTSC and well currently I have been fielding some comments regarding one of my ships and touching it up.
That's really interesting about the "trade relationships"...what does a "good Hiver Swarm intra-faction trade relationship" look like to an observer? Two large worlds with different industries/resources, in separate systems, with uncontested and/or short travel times? Or those two worlds in the same systems that need stuff from each other? The intel might be useful so that I can identify star groupings that I should definitely avoid in the early game. Until at least I have a fast raiding force that might tag along with a friendly faction force heading towards it.Well that is a bit of a complicated story but simply(?) no you would need more than two worlds. In a campaign game I have them set with multiple worlds in each system that each cover the resource needs of the industries in those systems. So they mine all their own raw materials (ore etc), produce their own intermediate supplies(heavy machinery, etc), manufacture their own final products (luxury goods, etc) and have the robust capital output to afford several invasion fleets and the occasional colony fleet (but that is part of a NEX gamble %). Now if you were an outside observer, you would see several trade fleets moving between their systems and landing on planets "trading goods" then moving on to another planet.
I kinda like the Hivers being an early game incursion...that slowly gets mopped up. It sets a time limit on whether/if the player can get hold of their items and ships. It also reminds me of a) I get ants in the house b) I apply several countermeasures and they go away.Heh I like that, RCW makes them more of a household pest rather that the Tyranid rushing your base :)
In other words, I really like Hivers in my random core worlds games and will stubbornly add them because Smashing Big Bug Ships Cool. Especially if I start a game in a system that has a Hiver world. The system defenders for the world I'm orbiting begin their wars with the Hiver defenders...and that usually goes badly. Gosh I just might to hang out and help, and oh look at that juicy salvage. Hey what's that green weapon? OK yikes there are no more human defenders...ok time to go.Well I do have them tuned higher than vanilla factions so in a RCW game each faction pretty much starts off on equal terms economically. So in an early game Hivers will have a good advantage, where the begin to fail is once factions begin to grow and trade with each other. Hivers then have a hard time and they become the minority and with everyone hating them, they constantly get invaded and since they start with only 2 worlds it is not long before they are eliminated.
Also want to note that a "growing" Hiver Swarm faction sounds...oh craps. There have been times with Nexerelin (Nex) random maps that I've seen Hivers growing a bit but as you say it doesn't last long. But I've also seen other mod factions have trouble competing in Nex. Anyway I admit my reason of staying 100% with Random Core Worlds (RCW): I'm avoiding the standard map until the official 1.0 release of StarSector so that I can play the campaign and map arrangement in it's completed glory.OH I get that. I like RCW as well and I really wish Derelict empire was worked on more or a new scenario is made. Beyond my capabilities but still I would give a big ole hug to anyone who takes that task on :)
Thank you for considering an update the OP about RCW...I think new players should just consider whether they would like some early/mid bug infestations (and rare cool weapons in shops/loot):That is quite ok. I am a one man show with six mods to juggle and I rely on players such as yourself pointing things out and sharing their perspective. My mods are a group work and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.
"A note about adding Hiver Swarm to your Nexerelin game that has Random Core Worlds enabled: a) Hivers will be a threat in the early-mid game but due to a lack of trading partners, random planet/placement negatively affecting the Hiver economy, and everyone being at war with them basically permanently, the Hiver faction will become starved of resources and begin to lose worlds b) so they are a unique source of tech/ships but eventually being everyone's enemy will push them into a minor role and/or they will be eliminated"Nice, you have pretty much saved me the time to write my own. I have a couple edits I'd like to make but with your permission, I plan to plagiarize your work :)
Just a quick thought: they might work with RCW if using something like EZ Faction to populate them as desired, after Nexerlin runs, rather than being entirely at the mercy of the generators. That might require a fire-once script; I've never looked at how RCW is implemented, but I presume it's much like early Exerelin's system, so it should be possible to run after that, since I presume it's largely just extending procgen.Hi there xenoargh, big fan :) Good points and I will look into it when time permits but I would have to consider a further modification if I had them appear fully formed in a RCW game it would give them an overwhelming advantage since every other faction starts with random placement and gutted economies.
IDK what state the public build of EZ Faction is in re: 0.96a+ (i.e., don't yell at me if it borks due to economic-engine changes- there's a reason why I haven't bothered updating most of my stuff, and won't until Alex says he's finally done with the core economy, lol). But it might provide a starting-place for this kind of thing.Yea I get that, I can keep my mods up to date since they are simple mods that require less maintenance than a more polished mod like Roider Union or HMI. Personally, I have not been able to start a long game since it seems every day a mod I like gets updated and I want them in my current game :)
great info thanks. funny enough, my very first .96a game playthrough features almost all of your mods (I don't think i need the hullmod mod since I have the two main "junk/trader" faction ones). The demon MOAR would not go away until I threw you coffeeGlad to do it, I am sure there are other players who have similar questions it was good of you to take the time to ask. (Also gave me a kick in the pants to get it done:) ) But, but you need all six to complete your collection and truly experience the DMSU!
forgot to add: in new game setup, when I set "enable Random Core Worlds": II see in the "enable factions" menu that the Hiver faction is disabled by default...please consider to set to "enabled" by default, or inform players in the OP page about what the default setting is, and what to do about itAh yea that was me sort of forcing the issue. I'll add that to the blurb once I field the messages on my other mods that came across this morning. I sort of feel bad about that now, I do my best to make my mods, well, modular with all sorts of of ways to tailor them to an individual's taste and here I go holding up a big ole stop sign on RCW. Bad Dazs Bad!
Hello and good mod! Your ships are beautiful and I like the design, and I love the idea of a perma-hostile faction.Ah thank you, I made HIVER specifically because I though the game would benefit from having a mid level threat baddie, it is nice to hear you are enjoying it. HuginBlar from Epta Consortium (a really good looking mod check it out) helped a lot in polishing the sprites up, I'll pass your kind words along to him as well.
I did a game where tangling with the Hivers cost me a fleet or two! :-)Well that is risk you run but no risk no reward :)
I will note, however, that the Hivers' stated goal of hyper-hostility falls apart fairly often- Being hostile to everyone, they tend to post bounties, which then means my war with the Hegemon rapidly gets me into their good graces, at which point they're a normal faction.Hmm that is odd, I have them flagged to not post bounties in Nex but I guess you are playing with a mod that has separate bounties. I have code implemented that should reset relations to hostile if a faction nears neutral. Could be the reward for those bounties is circumventing that. Are you using a mod that has bounties separate from vanilla and Nex?
Similarly, I kept finding bio-weapons all over the place well before I met the hivers, which hurt their mystique a little bit. Is there a way to make it so their weapons only drop from direct confrontations?I did my best to have them explode in AI fights and lessen the chance of recovery but it is a hard coded feature that loot drops no matter who is fighting. I do have an optional setting to make them not drop their weapons at all but that is a nuclear option that I assume you do not want to do. As far as I know there is not an option for only personal fights dropping loot but I can look into it.
forgot to add: in new game setup, when I set "enable Random Core Worlds": II see in the "enable factions" menu that the Hiver faction is disabled by default...please consider to set to "enabled" by default, or inform players in the OP page about what the default setting is, and what to do about it@eidolad and a note to all:
I will note, however, that the Hivers' stated goal of hyper-hostility falls apart fairly often- Being hostile to everyone, they tend to post bounties, which then means my war with the Hegemon rapidly gets me into their good graces, at which point they're a normal faction.Hmm that is odd, I have them flagged to not post bounties in Nex but I guess you are playing with a mod that has separate bounties. I have code implemented that should reset relations to hostile if a faction nears neutral. Could be the reward for those bounties is circumventing that. Are you using a mod that has bounties separate from vanilla and Nex?
Some observations on the first .96a Hiver Swarm in random core worlds, Nexerelin playthrough:Well that is why I stated that using them in RCW mode sort of breaks the mod. They become toothless but still have superior tech that is now easier to obtain. As I stated earlier, they start off with a couple small fleets that the NPC factions will eventually defeat then eliminate them in the early stages of the game since they cannot reproduce the lost ships. Hiver Swarm is all about Risk vs reward and I have done my best to balance the difficulty level. RCW tosses all that out the window and well you get what the random number generator gives you.
1. Hivers were exterminated quicker than any game I've had...they will killed about 6 hours into the playthrough.
2. I picked up not one, but two Hiver blueprint packages and I'm only character level 3...which is truly unheard of for me. I don't recall ever seeing a Hiver BP package before this. If Hiver weapons and ships are still a slight (or better) overmatch for a comparable human system, and if I'm seeing the expected "new" BP package drop rate, then this is pretty significant change.As far as the BP issue, I am not sure why they drop more in RCW mode. You can always just destroy them or sell them on the black market and power up the pirate faction for extra fun.
I'm picking these up either from Research Stations or other exploration sources. I'm only doing exploration missions until I have enough cash for the first colony.
_________________I believe there is an option in NEX for faction respawn but it effects all factions.
A feature request: "selective faction respawn" for Nexerelin for the Hiver Swarm, if it doesn't have this option. If Nex *does* have this option...then definitely let the player choose whether Hiver can respawn. This would be a reasonable workaround to keep the Hiver in the game. (like those little pavement ants which returned to my kitchen two Springs in a row until I found the problem)
Or if it is better to ask for this over on the Nexerelin thread, then I'll post it over there.It is such a niche request to have that be selective, I would not personally bother Histidine with it as I am sure there is still a ton of work keeping Nex 0.96a stable and I respect the time needed to do all the work that involves.
It happened in two games, but that was pre .96, and it hasn't recurred since I posted XD.I have read in the Nexerelin notes that the bounty system has had some changes made so it may have solved the issue.
I was using a fair few mods, but nothing that was explicitly about bounties? They were the standard sector-wide bounties you see a lot. I'll get the save-data if it shows up again!I asked because I have them flagged to post no bounties in the Nexerelin faction config so I figure it was a mod using the magiclib bounty system or something like it.
ok thanks for the info. FYI that in a single orbital base loot instance: two Hiver BP packs. .96a or one of the mods I have has definitely increased the drop rate of blueprint packs in general...I do seem to remember there being a loot re-work in the patch notes but the details escape me in my pre-coffee state. There is an optional file in the RAR that you can enable that makes their BP not drop at all if it gets to be a nuisance.
I've got four of the tasty Hiver BP packs in my inventory already
Super minor thing: my brand new Adorable-class frigate purchase as a Junk Yard Dog faction planet (Random Core Worlds) came with the name "HIVER Chekin".That is odd, I have JYD ship names set to only pull from a list of dog puns I made for them. At a guess RCW may not read the faction files, it is random after all :) Must just be a weird coincidence that it picked one of my other mods for it's naming scheme.
To work around the Hivers disappearing, I may just go with faction respawn in my next game that I want Hivers in. That makes them a pest that just keeps on coming back.Yep that will work for all factions including Hiver. Just know that when they appear they start fresh and the other factions are more established so Hivers will most likely be eliminated even faster.
Man, the Hivers are way too dominant in Nexrelin with standard core worlds. They always have like 3 invasions running at the same time, sat-bombing several colonies before I even get enough strength to influence anything.It sounds like you do not have any other faction mods enabled. Hivers are recommended for a game that has several enabled to help keep them at bay while you build up. You were doing it hard mode, nice job! :)
Feels like 90% of my battles are against the Hivers just while I try to keep them off my alliance's planets (I've picked Persean League) and every battle is an endless slogfest. I guess the upside is that I get a near endless supply of Hiver loot just from post-battle salvage and their OP weapons can turn any ship into a monster. The conventional factions hardly matter anymore because the Hivers send more attacks than the rest of the sector combined.That is about what I would expect using this mod without more than at least 3 added factions in the game. I know I have made that reccomendation several times but I will add it to the front page of the forum for clarity sake. I find that in my games, and granted I play with multiple factions enabled, the Hivers are fending off multiple invasions. I have them tuned for them to be able to do that and also send invasion fleets of their own.
It doesn't look like anybody ever attacks their homeworlds so they could easily be less aggressive without losing ground. Or maybe have year-long "hibernation" phases in which they don't invade so we get to see a bit of the regular game in that time.
Ah, yeah, I was only playing with CFT and Arma Armatura, the 0.96 update reset my collection of mods.Well at least you have good taste in mods :)
Hola.I am a big Robert Heinlein fan and have read all his books. I thought the movie was it's own thing and missed the mark but good cheesy fun none the less :)
I have played Starsector hundreds of hours, sometimes with more than 10 mod factions, always whit Nex. I tried this one because it reminded me of Starship Troopers and I love it.
But what a disappointment, to find out that they are Green Remnants. You had a great idea but you missed the target. Of course it is your vision, your creation. But they certainly don't look like what they're supposed to. I started a game and I have not managed to reach even 20 hours. It's not so much the amount of power they have right off the bat, it's just that fighting them isn't fun because they're not bugs, they're green Remnants. Pure technology.I am sorry to hear that. I guess at a certain perspective you could see them as analogous to remnant but the remnant are the roaming big bads and do not invade or colonize but I think I understand your POV.
I thought it would be the numbers, many ships but relatively weak. It's quite the opposite, that's what the Remnants are for, don't take the paper from the Remnants, it's the only thing those wretches without a soul have.I would love for them to be an actual swarm like the Tyranids and have fleets filled with hundreds of small and medium ships but I am constrained by the fleet limit size that the game imposes. I tried to compensate for that by giving them the ability to send out multiple invasions at once and swarming in that fashion. I do not mean for this mod to compete with the Remnant, they hate those blue metal boys just as much as the space monkeys. I tried to balance them to be a weaker stepping stone for a player to build up with xp and power levels against so they can eventually go after the Ordo fleets infesting the system.
Other than that, the mod is very good, technically. At least you haven't included manga drawings in the images of the commanders as my "friend" Knight Chase has done with Mayasuran Navy, I was going to post him too but it's even hard for me to enter his section, he has gone too far with the manga aunts. It *** up the atmosphere of the game. But yours do look like they are some kind of merciless leader insects. The design of the ships is good and it's nice to see them coming into battle. The mechanics of an alien race of ever-threatening insects from deep within the sector is amazing, and in a way you've nailed it.Well that is kind of you to say, thank you. As far as the Manga inspired mods out there, I enjoy them to an extent but I can see where you may find them to be game breaking in a lore perspective. If you find that you want to play with their ships but not the portraits you can always edit the sprites with replacements. It is a single player game, you hurt no one if you tinker with the mods for your personal use. IDK, just a thought.
I made the account just to write this to you, you have made me lose 20 hours of my life, which are worth little and I was going to lose them on anything else, true, but it was on your thing. It pains me to uninstall it, it was a good concept, but it doesn't fulfill its supposed insectoid role. I'm a little kidding, you do a good job, but I'm not going to use your mod in the next game.That is a fair assessment, and I implore you to not undervalue your time because it is all limited and precious.
Well, maybe I'll visit Knight Chase, the truth is that it scares me how someone can spoil something so well worked for a piece of crap like that, we must not forget that it is Starsector. I don't need to see girls drawn in the commander's image, just the face of a being trying to survive in the Persean Sector, and I want to believe it.Well that is their vision, please try to respect that. Even though you may not like that style, there is a player base that does and Knight Chase does a good job catering to it. The beauty of this game is that it is free to mod in so many ways. If you can learn Java, and have the inclination then you can make any sort of mod you desire. You can have space clowns that do not fire weapons but use flowers that shoot water and plastic hammers that bop your ships on the head if that its your inclination. :)
This opinion is mine of course, and opinions are like ass, everyone has one. I translated it with google, my english is the worst. Que tenga un buen día Señor.That is some commitment and I salute you for taking the time to not only give me a concise feedback but also to translate it. I wish you well in your Starsector saga.
The Hiver battles open with some swarming as their logistics and support ships recklessly charge in and get swatted within the first minute, after that it tends to be the more dangerous and long lived ships that stick around so it becomes a bit more of a standard battle.Well hello there, good to hear from you again. The logistics ships are cannon fodder so l paced a ton of smaller mounts on them to swat fighters and missiles while the big boys do the damage. The best I could do for a swarm effect with the hard coded fleet size limit was have their wings maxed at 6 and the carriers set to be an equal part of their ship deployment. You make some nice points and there are so many things I would like to do with the mod but I am just a hack coder and try as I might, some of the more advanced Java scripts tend to elude me.
Maybe they could be made swarmier by having some ships come with non-respawning large strike craft in tow, like the Roider Union fighter attachment hullmod? AFAIK the game won't allow proper line ships to be spawned in that way but if they're non-respawning you could add some much heavier "strikecraft" that go even beyond what the current quite dangerous strikers of the Hivers are like.
I'm finding them quite swarmy as is! Between their love of fighters and those really long-lasting missiles, I'm finding PD absolutely essential to keep the skies even marginally clean.Hello there NasaBrindle thanks for checking in again. I hope your bounty issues were solved with .96a, please let me know if it still occurs. They do have weaknesses but they are not the standard ones you may be used to and that is by design. I posted a nice writeup on tips to fight them on the forum OP that I found on reddit and in essence what you posted is the key. Thank you for the post and I hope you are enjoying the mod.
The Hivers don't list any required libs in the mod menu BTW, maybe that'll cause some bug reports.Hello there, though I think the previous crash report is unrelated you make a solid point. I do have it listed on the forum OP but not everyone visits that and d/l from discord. A clear oversight on my part since I do have that for my other mods. It's a simple addition and I'll add that to the next update for Hiver.
I'm finding them quite swarmy as is! Between their love of fighters and those really long-lasting missiles, I'm finding PD absolutely essential to keep the skies even marginally clean.Hello there NasaBrindle thanks for checking in again. I hope your bounty issues were solved with .96a, please let me know if it still occurs. They do have weaknesses but they are not the standard ones you may be used to and that is by design. I posted a nice writeup on tips to fight them on the forum OP that I found on reddit and in essence what you posted is the key. Thank you for the post and I hope you are enjoying the mod.
I do think that their weapons may be overpriced- One of their plasma cannons is worth almost 50k if I remember correctly, which means you don't have to beat too many fleets to have a million in loot.
In my current game I've seen them post "please destroy a pirate base" bounties but no more faction-wide, so it hasn't been an issue, thanks!Excellent to hear thank you for the update!
Re: Weaknesses: They're also very weak to fast, bursty ships. I've got a phase cruiser covered in burstfire beam weapons that one-shots most Hiver ships, especially the designated "Carrier" ones. Getting in and out without being devoured by the swarm can be an art though.Well I had to give them SOME weaknesses and you just gave away the trade secret. :)
I do think that their weapons may be overpriced- One of their plasma cannons is worth almost 50k if I remember correctly, which means you don't have to beat too many fleets to have a million in loot.I hear you, I've lowered the prices three times now. I'll finish my thoughts in my reply to KDR_11k though.
Thank you for pointing that out. I figured that into the price structure with Hiver assets. I wanted them to be obtainable but hard to replicate. Having a full fleet of captured or re-built Hiver ships can be a goal but it would put the game on easy mode which if that is your personal goal I support it but I am not going to make it cheap :)I do think that their weapons may be overpriced- One of their plasma cannons is worth almost 50k if I remember correctly, which means you don't have to beat too many fleets to have a million in loot.
Downside is that sometimes your custom produced ships get auto-fitted with Hiver weapons which drives up the price a LOT.
You're missing an entry in an i18n file.Well hello there KDR_11k thank you for the report but I am a little confused regarding it. From what I know, i18n deals with language localizations and translations to regional locales. I am unsure how that applies to the second asteroid field in Zesketet though, especially since the first one uses the same structure:
Unknown string: HIVER_asteroidfield2
SectorEntityToken Bugfield1 = system.addTerrain(Terrain.ASTEROID_FIELD,
new AsteroidFieldTerrainPlugin.AsteroidFieldParams(500f, 700f, 30, 40, 4f, 24f, txt("HIVER_asteroidfield1")));
SectorEntityToken Bugfield2 = system.addTerrain(Terrain.ASTEROID_FIELD,
new AsteroidFieldTerrainPlugin.AsteroidFieldParams(500f, 700f, 30, 40, 4f, 24f, txt("HIVER_asteroidfield2")));
Is it against the forum's ToS to request v1.08a? Since @Dazs doesn't use either Github or Bitbucket and re-uses the same download link on Google Drive for v1.08c, the usual method of finding earlier versions won't work for Hiver Swarm.
Alternatively, would changing the 'gameVersion' value in mod_info.json to '0.95.1a-RC(#)' be sufficient? Or would doing that run afoul of v0.96's under-the-hood changes?
I have yet to update to v0.96 of Starsector and I wish to try out my luck against this faction with my (mostly) working v0.95.1a mod collection, several of which will definitely NOT work with v0.96 onwards, because they have been abandoned.
Hello there, I do not believe a request is against the TOS and anyway I keep old versions of my mods so it is not a problem. I hosted a version of 1.08a on dropbox for you, here is the link:Major thanks, @Dazs!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/u21q884qefqh6vb/Hiver%20Swarm%201.08a.rar?dl=0
Enjoy!
You're missing an entry in an i18n file.Well hello there KDR_11k thank you for the report but I am a little confused regarding it. From what I know, i18n deals with language localizations and translations to regional locales. I am unsure how that applies to the second asteroid field in Zesketet though, especially since the first one uses the same structure:
Unknown string: HIVER_asteroidfield2CodeSectorEntityToken Bugfield1 = system.addTerrain(Terrain.ASTEROID_FIELD,
new AsteroidFieldTerrainPlugin.AsteroidFieldParams(500f, 700f, 30, 40, 4f, 24f, txt("HIVER_asteroidfield1")));
SectorEntityToken Bugfield2 = system.addTerrain(Terrain.ASTEROID_FIELD,
new AsteroidFieldTerrainPlugin.AsteroidFieldParams(500f, 700f, 30, 40, 4f, 24f, txt("HIVER_asteroidfield2")));
I do have them overlapping though so I could separate them if that is what you are reporting. Some clarity would help me better diagnose and address the issue.
In the status bar at the bottom where it shows what terrains you're in it showed that while I was in the asteroid field. I'm seeing a description text in descriptions.csv but that reads more like a longer form explanation, not a short name and checking other mods I can't seem to find any asteroid fields and such in their descriptions.csv. Not sure where those texts go.
An absolutely amazing mod that I would consider a must-have in a playthrough (because space bugs trying to take over the sector and you trying to stop them is cool).You have no idea how happy that makes me, thank you!
One thing that I would love to see added though would be the option to remove Hivers from market lists so that suggested trade routes aren't flooded with 90% Hiver space because that's what the game considers most profitable. It makes trading fairly annoying, even more so while using StelNet (up to about 95% of the most profitable routes are shown as Hiver-Hiver), and since the faction is hostile to everyone and won't trade with you no matter what, it just clutters market screens. However, if there's a DIY fix for this, let me know.OH I agree 100%. I did reach out to Histidine to see if it could be done through Nex to hide their markets a couple patches back but it had the unintended consequence of them not being able to trade with each other and gutting their fleets so I had to reverse that change. I also asked Jaghaimo if a blacklist for commodities could be added to StelNet and I was told it would be looked into but that was weeks ago. It is on the to-do list for Hiver but I have not looked into it lately so maybe somewhere in the .96a notes there is an answer. Time to Bug hunt! :)
Lmao I'm not sure what combination of mods is causing this behaviour, but I became "friendly" (now Cooperative lmao) somehow to Hivers quite early on in my playthrough (probably because I've been kicking the *** out of a laundry list of human factions who Hivers are all Vengeful to) and the Hivers let me dock at their planets. Not that I've abused this feature until quite late in the game - I'm 8 cycles in so I didn't abuse it for easy cash early. Maybe it's Starpocalypse, Nexerelin, or whatever mod gives you +faction relationship when you win impressive victories?I do have code in the mod that if a player reaches neutral then it automatically resets to vengeful. I guess in theory you could gain enough reputation that the game just jumps over neutral and right to friendly if you are using a mod that gives huge chunks of rep gain, you mention Starpocalypse and I do not use that so it may be that. Either way that is not an intended behavior of the mod unless you flag then as a starting faction as described in the README.
Glad I didn't abuse the trade margins early... Hiver planets have extremely low Accessibility scores, so you can make killer trade deals by buying up the insane commodity surpluses and running them wherever there isn't a surplus (planets with deficits are nice but not necessary to secure profits). I just went from nearly 0 credits (developing 5 colonies at once will do that to you) to 3.5 million quite quickly.That is not something I considered but it does sound correct. Since I have them flagged as enemies to all and located way outside of the normal trade routes, I gave them a closed loop economy. That results in stockpiling on some commodities in order to cover any shortfalls. That way they can always afford their invasion and colony fleets w/out trading with another faction to generate revenue. As to the black market well that is risk/reward since there are numerous patrols in their systems and if one spots you then they all come a runnin! :)
You don't even need to directly betray humanity to make killer profits. Just sell to the Black Market for any planet they capture to make incredible profits.
Militarily, I like the balance of power they're at in my game. I'm running with 12 or 13 modded factions (thereabouts? lost track) and the Hivers do send plenty of invasions but they regularly lose or get their temporary holdings in the Core Worlds wiped quite quickly. I think they did succeed in 1 or 2 satbombings, but only on weak markets (poor Rust Belt RIP). Their core territories are intact - countless invasions get sent, some succeed, but they never hold the planet in question - but I did see one planet get decivilised because it got bullied too much. Still, in an 8 cycle playthrough they're holding really well. Chozanti is currently surrounded by 5 Persean League fleets alone and more faction fleets are on the way, but nevertheless the Hivers are remaining steady. A good balance.They aren't conquers in the sense of taking over systems, that would be way too OP too fast. Instead they sat bomb and decivilize settled planets to hurt another faction's economy. It takes a long time to "heal" those wounds. Think of it as a blitzkrieg strategy where they just clear the area of the humans while they only take the choice worlds.
In battle, Hivers weren't what I expected (I fought a few 300k+ bounties). Point-defense is of course extremely necessary due to the high number of battlecarriers, but their ships are a bit more... slow and elite, instead of fast and numerous than I expected. If you're not using an overwhelming number of fighters that EMP Emitter system half of their ships have will rip them to pieces, their energy weapons are extremely efficient and they have armour basically equivalent to 1 ship class higher - so I found an early game UAF frigates + carriers warband was very ill suited for facing them. Ballistics did poor damage and just got armour-tanked, fighters couldn't survive the approach or land serious damage. Despite their lack of raw forward speed (compared to say Pathers, Remnant or Mess swarms) they're extremely maneuverable, so trying to flank them was just worthless and they're extremely deadly in a brawl. Survival came down to "run, shoot, don't get caught".I have gotten that in the past where by using the word "swarm" they thought it meant fleets full of small ships engulfing your fleet. I use it in the sense that they have multiple invasions going on at once and they focus on swarms of fighters/bombers. Your breakdown on how to fight them is pretty much on point. I do have a strategy guide on the forum OP under spoilers that has one or two addition points you may consider reading.
That was early game. Later, I've found Hiver ships are not particularly resistant to bomber salvos or missile ships. A cursed Astral I salvaged was the perfect "f*** you in particular" to wipe any Hiver ship off the board at little risk to the bombers (EMP Emitter can't 1 shot them all if they just get recalled before flying into range), and a ship with a strong long-range alpha strike (like UAF's Purcellyra) wipes them off the board. The only trick is that whatever you hold the line with needs to be really tough. A very feast-or-famine faction.I do not personally use UAF but I do read that players consider them overpowered and the perfect HIVER counter.
The rewards for fighting them are good - the weapons alone covered the cost of repairing ships, let alone the bounties. Comparable with fighting Remnant then selling the Gamma Cores to Tri-Tach actually. Compare that to fighting prv Starwork's Agni (as much pain or more, but the weapons are worth very little) and the Hivers are an asset to the player even if they're not allied to them.I have balanced that risk/reward several times and I think I have it correct now. The Agni are a different thing entirely, they do not migrate, colonize or invade but I do enjoy Prav's implementation of them. Overall I wanted the Hivers to be a fun faction to grind against mid game to gain experience and cash and then once eliminated you are ready to take on the big bad Doritos!
Hi, I love your mods.OH so YOU are the one :) - For real though first off good morning and I truly appreciate the kind words, thank you.
I have been enjoying playing with this mod. I decided with a new game, I wanted to enable them to be playable. Following along with the instructions I reach the last part to add in Replacement Ships.rar.The playable option was a player request some patches ago. I am happy to hear you have not run into any issues because I do not play them and I was worried that bugs (jk) may have crept in since I have not tested the option in some time.
I originally had no intention of adding them but wanted to see them as an option worth considering so I unzipped them and was shocked at how awesome they look! Great job to who ever did them.The replacement ships started off as some free to use images on spiral arms that was posted by Prontus the mod creator of RED and BLUE (both great mods imo). I then color shifted them to a more insect looking shade and cut them apart. I then took the pieces and "kit bashed" them into what I thought were shapes that mimicked the main pack. That was quite the pickle jar to open but in the end I thought it was worth it. You have no idea what it means to me that you like them so much as you are the only player who has positively commented on them :)
Now my question is, could you make it possible to add them in side along side your original bug designs? (Maybe with some configs you could copy and paste over the other files).The original line up of Hiver ships had a mix of biological and mechanical and were pretty much taken from spiral arms with little modification as I had no idea what I doing at them time. Over time and with the help of Hyperion505 and HuginBlar I was able to replace all the mechanicals with biologicals. I was then messaged by some players that they do not like bugs on their screen and some that liked that the mechanicals so that is why I separated them into two separate packs. In order to have them side by side it would require a doubling up of their lineup since, code wise, they are the same ship with the same stats and loadouts. At best, you could decide which ones you would like to replace in the main pack and then mix/match the images, .ship and .variant files.
In my mind the lore is there are small worker bugs that although are not space worthy they can construct ships and man them, to support the hive.That is the the actual lore for them, they are not a race of giant insects. Their technology is organically based so they essentially CRISPR and grow their ships and weapons.
I feel it is a waste for them to go to waste sitting on the side lines, and I do not want to get rid of the Zurg like bugs that I enjoy the idea of, finally aliens in the game!I am unsure what you mean by going to waste sitting on the side lines, in my games they are very active. The Zurg are certainly an analog along with the Tyranids from their respective IPs. The Hiver concept originates from a game called Sword of the Stars which I adore. As to aliens in the game I felt it was a lacking feature but I do respect Alex's stance on the matter. There is another alien race, the Agni in the mod prv Starwork (another banger mod). They are not aggressive like the Hivers so you won't see them invading but if you stumble across them they are quite the challenge.
I feel it is a waste for them to go to waste sitting on the side lines, and I do not want to get rid of the Zurg like bugs that I enjoy the idea of, finally aliens in the game!Well that is nice to hear and a good morning to you! Alex has stated publicly that the Corvus sector is Human and their AI creations that went out of control only. That is fine and I respect the vision but I found the pirates to be too easy after I was established with a base and the Remnant too hard to tackle other than scouting parties. Thus Hiver Swarm was born, I wanted to add an enemy that was not already in the game that a player can level and gear up with in order to get to the endgame. So I placed them so far away to give players a chance to establish themselves before the madness begins. That is why I label them a mid-game threat and if I put them closer they would really tear the sector apart before the factions were ready for them much less the player. I do hope that I correctly understood what you meant by the sidelines and addressed it, if not please clarify assuming you got through that TLDR :)
What I meant by that was you have these awesome ships not being used, it feels like a waste of potential. I should of broken up that sentence with a full stop as it was two trains of thought.OH well I already typed the above so lets just let that sit there :) - As to the ships, I had thought of using them to make a playable cyborg faction that would keep them within Alex's standards since it is a mix of human and AI. Thing is, I already have six mods and although the ships are already made (I'd color shift them) I am unsure I could keep up with a seventh. Plus Prontus already has the RED which is in that vein already and the Hiver mechanical pack is sourced from his leftovers on spiral arms so I did not want to infringe.
I reverted back to the default setting, removing and re-adding the mod. I followed the steps exactly but it crashed on start up, I forgot the error, something about a missile missing or something. I forgot and was to lazy at the time to report it (got busy with real life), sorry. You can try it on your side and should get the same crash as I did.Hmm ok, at a guess, I added a missile in the main pack and neglected to add it in the alternate pack images to match the data files.
I totally understand about you having to many mods. XD I use them all.<3 I appreciate the fandom, I sometimes wonder if I made the mods just for my personal use lol.
I was thinking, clone your settings for the bugs (already have the mod in place, just change place location and images) but tweak them into Borgs and make the sitting at the bottom right of the screen for the Cyborgs location. Eventually it might just become Bugs vs Borgs = meeting in the middle. Sounds epic in my mind.Actually a good idea but I am sure there are users of the mod that would prefer to keep the mechanical pack as part of Hiver as it was a frequently requested feature in the past. From what I have read, not sure because I do not use it, the UAF mod is really good at taking out the Hivers. Your enthusiasm for the idea has gotten my attention though but but could discord handle yet ANOTHER Dazs mod before it explodes??!!
Okay, I'm probably a moron, but how exactly do I
Heh no problem, I've been known to do that a time or two myself. This is as EXACT as I can make it :)Okay, I'm probably a moron, but how exactly do I
Please excuise that, I accidentally fat fingered enter, but I was asking EXACTLY what files to modify to make their stuff purchasable
Heh no problem, I've been known to do that a time or two myself. This is as EXACT as I can make it :)Okay, I'm probably a moron, but how exactly do I
Please excuise that, I accidentally fat fingered enter, but I was asking EXACTLY what files to modify to make their stuff purchasable
-Find a file named purchasable_ship_data.csv located in data/hulls - If you delete the current ship_data.csv and rename the optional file ship_data.csv it will make all Hiver ships purchasable and available at the Arms Dealer
-Find a file named purchasable_weapon.data_csv located in data/weapons If you delete the current weapon_data.csv and rename the optional file weapon_data.csv it will make all Hiver weapons purchasable and available at the Arms Dealer
Okay, I assume I delete the ones named EXACTLY that, but what is the optional one?I guess I am misunderstanding your question. In the Hiver Swarm main folder look for and open a txt file named README that has all the locations of the optional files and how to enable them. I hope that helps, if not let me know.
Okay, I assume I delete the ones named EXACTLY that, but what is the optional one?I guess I am misunderstanding your question. In the Hiver Swarm main folder look for and open a txt file named README that has all the locations of the optional files and how to enable them. I hope that helps, if not let me know.
The mod comes with several different options which are detailed in the README. Your original question was on how to make their "stuff" purchasable. Keep in mind that first the only way you can buy their assets would be to go through the arms dealer when you enable that option. By default they are hostile to all and you would be unable to just dock on one of their planets and buy things like a normal faction.Okay, I assume I delete the ones named EXACTLY that, but what is the optional one?I guess I am misunderstanding your question. In the Hiver Swarm main folder look for and open a txt file named README that has all the locations of the optional files and how to enable them. I hope that helps, if not let me know.
I'm asking what the OPTIONAL files are called originally, cause I'm not sure which one I am meant to modify.
The mod comes with several different options which are detailed in the README. Your original question was on how to make their "stuff" purchasable. Keep in mind that first the only way you can buy their assets would be to go through the arms dealer when you enable that option. By default they are hostile to all and you would be unable to just dock on one of their planets and buy things like a normal faction.Okay, I assume I delete the ones named EXACTLY that, but what is the optional one?I guess I am misunderstanding your question. In the Hiver Swarm main folder look for and open a txt file named README that has all the locations of the optional files and how to enable them. I hope that helps, if not let me know.
I'm asking what the OPTIONAL files are called originally, cause I'm not sure which one I am meant to modify.
All the optional features have to be done manually by you, there is no in game menu. Navigate to w/e drive and folder you installed Starsector, there will be a subfolder called "mods". In that subfolder look for a subfolder called "Hiver Swarm 1.08c". Now in that subfolder is the directions, data and graphic files pertaining to Hiver Swarm.
The location of the instructions on how to enable those optional features are detailed in the file called "README" which is located in Starsector\mods\Hiver Swarm 1.08c and it can be opened with any text editor like notepad, Word, etc. If for some reason you do not have a text editor, I also have the instruction located on the Hiver Forum main page, https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=22965.0 now look for a bolded line "The mod comes with several optional files that can be enabled before the start of a new game - below that are the various instructions on how to enable the various optional files under spoiler tags.
To enable ships to be purchasable via the arms dealer, navigate to: Starsector\mods\Hiver Swarm 1.08c\data\hulls and follow the directions in the README
To enable weapons to be purchasable via the arms dealer, navigate to: Starsector\mods\Hiver Swarm 1.08c\data\weapons and follow the directions in the README
OK I think I now understand your question. The instructions make sense to me but in an objective sense I can see where it can be confusing. Let me parse the following instructional section:The mod comes with several different options which are detailed in the README. Your original question was on how to make their "stuff" purchasable. Keep in mind that first the only way you can buy their assets would be to go through the arms dealer when you enable that option. By default they are hostile to all and you would be unable to just dock on one of their planets and buy things like a normal faction.Okay, I assume I delete the ones named EXACTLY that, but what is the optional one?I guess I am misunderstanding your question. In the Hiver Swarm main folder look for and open a txt file named README that has all the locations of the optional files and how to enable them. I hope that helps, if not let me know.
I'm asking what the OPTIONAL files are called originally, cause I'm not sure which one I am meant to modify.
All the optional features have to be done manually by you, there is no in game menu. Navigate to w/e drive and folder you installed Starsector, there will be a subfolder called "mods". In that subfolder look for a subfolder called "Hiver Swarm 1.08c". Now in that subfolder is the directions, data and graphic files pertaining to Hiver Swarm.
The location of the instructions on how to enable those optional features are detailed in the file called "README" which is located in Starsector\mods\Hiver Swarm 1.08c and it can be opened with any text editor like notepad, Word, etc. If for some reason you do not have a text editor, I also have the instruction located on the Hiver Forum main page, https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=22965.0 now look for a bolded line "The mod comes with several optional files that can be enabled before the start of a new game - below that are the various instructions on how to enable the various optional files under spoiler tags.
To enable ships to be purchasable via the arms dealer, navigate to: Starsector\mods\Hiver Swarm 1.08c\data\hulls and follow the directions in the README
To enable weapons to be purchasable via the arms dealer, navigate to: Starsector\mods\Hiver Swarm 1.08c\data\weapons and follow the directions in the README
Okay, I understand this, but the README doesn't tell you the name of the optional files, neither does your thing. IT says the pruchasable ships and weapons, but it doesn't tell you the name of the OPTIONAL files you need to rename. I'm just asking what they are because I can't find the name of what files I am meant to rename anywhere.
OK I think I now understand your question. The instructions make sense to me but in an objective sense I can see where it can be confusing. Let me parse the following instructional section:The mod comes with several different options which are detailed in the README. Your original question was on how to make their "stuff" purchasable. Keep in mind that first the only way you can buy their assets would be to go through the arms dealer when you enable that option. By default they are hostile to all and you would be unable to just dock on one of their planets and buy things like a normal faction.Okay, I assume I delete the ones named EXACTLY that, but what is the optional one?I guess I am misunderstanding your question. In the Hiver Swarm main folder look for and open a txt file named README that has all the locations of the optional files and how to enable them. I hope that helps, if not let me know.
I'm asking what the OPTIONAL files are called originally, cause I'm not sure which one I am meant to modify.
All the optional features have to be done manually by you, there is no in game menu. Navigate to w/e drive and folder you installed Starsector, there will be a subfolder called "mods". In that subfolder look for a subfolder called "Hiver Swarm 1.08c". Now in that subfolder is the directions, data and graphic files pertaining to Hiver Swarm.
The location of the instructions on how to enable those optional features are detailed in the file called "README" which is located in Starsector\mods\Hiver Swarm 1.08c and it can be opened with any text editor like notepad, Word, etc. If for some reason you do not have a text editor, I also have the instruction located on the Hiver Forum main page, https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=22965.0 now look for a bolded line "The mod comes with several optional files that can be enabled before the start of a new game - below that are the various instructions on how to enable the various optional files under spoiler tags.
To enable ships to be purchasable via the arms dealer, navigate to: Starsector\mods\Hiver Swarm 1.08c\data\hulls and follow the directions in the README
To enable weapons to be purchasable via the arms dealer, navigate to: Starsector\mods\Hiver Swarm 1.08c\data\weapons and follow the directions in the README
Okay, I understand this, but the README doesn't tell you the name of the optional files, neither does your thing. IT says the pruchasable ships and weapons, but it doesn't tell you the name of the OPTIONAL files you need to rename. I'm just asking what they are because I can't find the name of what files I am meant to rename anywhere.
"-Find a file named purchasable_ship_data.csv located in data/hulls - If you delete the current ship_data.csv and rename the optional file ship_data.csv it will make all Hiver ships purchasable and available at the Arms Dealer"
The "and rename the optional file" part of the instructions is referring to the file I state to find in the first part which is "purchasable_ship_data.csv". Essentially you are replacing the standard file "ship_data.csv" with the optional file ("purchasable_ship_data.csv") by deleting the standard "ship_data.csv" then renaming "purchasable_ship_data.csv" to just "ship_data.csv" which will take the place of the standard file and load the code that will make the ships now purchasable from the arms dealer.
I do hope that clears thing up, please let me know either way.
THANK YOU! I think a slightly easier way to word it is 'Rename purchasable_ship_data.csv to ship_Data.csv after deleting the original one".Whew, Success! So glad we were able to drill it down and figure it out. Thank you for sticking with it until it was solved. Good idea, I guess I am a little technical and should be more conversational in the directions. :-[
Been messing around with the Scarabaeidae and have noticed it occasionally takes hits through the shield from the front. The front hitbox of the ship is probably not quite fully covered by the shield (or maybe the ship hitbox is wonky) and I was wondering if that is intentional or not. It is unique however somewhat annoying as you take hull damage when hits are clearly blocked by the shield.Hello there thank you for inquiring,
Been messing around with the Scarabaeidae and have noticed it occasionally takes hits through the shield from the front. The front hitbox of the ship is probably not quite fully covered by the shield (or maybe the ship hitbox is wonky) and I was wondering if that is intentional or not. It is unique however somewhat annoying as you take hull damage when hits are clearly blocked by the shield.Hello there thank you for inquiring,
I just looked over both the data file and the metrics for the Scarabaeidae but do not see an issue on my end. It has an omni shield so I am unsure what you mean by the front taking damage. Just for clarification before I dive deeper, are you sure that the shield is covering the area? I ask because as an omni shield it may be facing another direction.
It's certainly a bit strange, I don't get any problems with beams but was able to replicate the issue by running a quick sim battle against a Dominator with annihilator pods (also got hit with the Mk 9 on another sim), a bit of splash might have to do with it. You would take damage from the rockets very specific angles, the front right/left.I appreciate the specific details, it helps me recreate the issue. I believe the issue MAY be that the Omni shield on that ship is a bit unusual at 275 degrees and you may not be covering an area that you assume you are since most shield arcs are even numbers. That is just a guess mind you, I'll re-create that scenario tomorrow in game and see if I notice anything.
It's certainly a bit strange, I don't get any problems with beams but was able to replicate the issue by running a quick sim battle against a Dominator with annihilator pods (also got hit with the Mk 9 on another sim), a bit of splash might have to do with it. You would take damage from the rockets very specific angles, the front right/left.The same thing, damage goes through the shield from missiles or ballistics, somewhere 30-40 degrees to the right or left.
The same thing, damage goes through the shield from missiles or ballistics, somewhere 30-40 degrees to the right or left.Thank you so much for including the screenshots. The graphic you show is the alternate mechanical version of the Scarabaeidae and I have been looking at the main pack version. That clears things up quite a bit because I had not considered that and have spent over an hour trying to puzzle this out lol. Ok that being said, back to the grind, I *should* have a fix out later today.
screenshots: 1 and 2 from reaper torpedo (lost 50% HP). 3 from hephaestus ag cannon.
It can be seen that the shield is raised. At the same time, the color of the damage numbers for the armor and hull is visible.
As if the hitbox far beyond the visible zone of the model and the shield =)
v1.09 released today -Save compatible with v1.08c - Well that took 6 hours and two pots of coffee :)
Fixed multiple player reported issues with the mod. The changelog on the forum OP and in the ZIP have all the details and thank you notes
Sorry it took me so long to get to some of them but I needed a break and I *think* Hiver is caught up with the requests other than making the alternate mechanical ships their own faction. @Zalpha I am still thinking of doing it but there were so many little accumulated issues that I wanted to get out first. However before I take on that workload, I just wonder if anyone else would be interested in the Meklar Menace (working title)?
Thank you so much for including the screenshots. The graphic you show is the alternate mechanical version of the Scarabaeidae and I have been looking at the main pack version. That clears things up quite a bit because I had not considered that and have spent over an hour trying to puzzle this out lol. Ok that being said, back to the grind, I *should* have a fix out later today.Not every mod has an alternative version of the visual models. In fact, this is the first time I've seen something like this. So somehow I forgot to mention this detail.
Ah that is a google drive thing. Since it was originally called "Hiver Swarm.rar" it remained that even when I changed the compression. I fixed it and it should now be Hiver Swarm.zip. It's the little things that slip past me like that that dive me crazy lol - Thank you for letting me know!Thank you so much for including the screenshots. The graphic you show is the alternate mechanical version of the Scarabaeidae and I have been looking at the main pack version. That clears things up quite a bit because I had not considered that and have spent over an hour trying to puzzle this out lol. Ok that being said, back to the grind, I *should* have a fix out later today.Not every mod has an alternative version of the visual models. In fact, this is the first time I've seen something like this. So somehow I forgot to mention this detail.
By the way, great work. With the ability to play for a faction, I plan the next session for them.
ps When the mod is downloaded, it is called "Hiver Swarm.rar" although it is packed in zip =)
Good luck =)
Please tell me more mods with aggressive factions. I think I've seen a mod with a player-style faction (uses any ships and weapons), but I can't find it right now.Hello there, I am no expert but based on the brief description you give I believe what you are looking for is Tranquility's mod Adversary: https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=25821.0
Yep, this is it. Thanks!Please tell me more mods with aggressive factions. I think I've seen a mod with a player-style faction (uses any ships and weapons), but I can't find it right now.Hello there, I am no expert but based on the brief description you give I believe what you are looking for is Tranquility's mod Adversary: https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=25821.0
There is also Legio Infernalis, a strong pirate boss faction within Nia Tahl's mod Tahlan Shipworks: https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=14935.0
I am sure there are others I am not thinking of atm but those two would fit within your description.
Hope that helps.
Shouldn't Hiver freighters and tankers be civilian ships? My current game treats them as combat craft which makes the fights less than impressive, especially since they for some reason make up more than 50% of their fleets.You do make a good point that I have been internally debating. They were formerly civilian but as a way of toning them down I removed that status. However, in my playthroughs I have noted that it was probably a bit much as I find them less likely to win fights. I am currently working on some TTSC changes but I do plan to work on Hiver soon as well and I will certainly keep your comment in mind as I do so. My personal time is limited atm due to real life issues so no ETA but I will have something out roughly by end of month/early next month for sure.
Sorry if this has been brought up before, but is there a way to 'hide' the faction from the market? Specifically when pressing F1 over an item, it always lists a Hiver planet as 'best to buy/sell'. I love the mod but it's annoying to see every time I check prices.Hello there, I am happy to hear you are enjoying the mod. I have tried several ways to do that as I find it annoying myself. The only way I can get them to invade and colonize it to make them a "playable" faction and that puts them on the market. I did reach out to the author of Stelnet to see if they could hide a commodity market on their end but according to their forum page that is is still a work in progress.
Thank you for the fast reply! I had a feeling that the answer was going to be related to them being a faction that can colonize.Glad to hear requests, it keeps me on my toes. I sort of gave up on it after trying several ways but your post prompted me to ask on the misc modding questions forum and Alex was kind enough to give me some ideas which I will try to implement in the next update. So stay tuned as my small brain tries to figure this out. :)
I actually popped back into this thread to edit my reply to mention I saw you did that! Thank you for your hard work, both on this and your other mods ;DThank you, I do try. However try as I might I just cannot seem to hide their commodity markets and still have them be an effective invader. To all those that post on the forum and in discord regarding the commodity issue, know that I am aware of it and it "bugs" me as well. I have not given up but I am putting it on pause for now. However...
Hello moderators,may i have link hiver swarm for version 0.9.5 ....I'm flattered that you like the mod enough to ask. I do keep a repository of my mods and here is a link to the last version that was 0.95 compliant https://www.dropbox.com/s/u21q884qefqh6vb/Hiver%20Swarm%201.08a.rar?dl=0 - Note that this version would lack and changes made to the current (1.10) version of the mod. Enjoy!
thank you for your time.
While I wouldn't want to play as them, they make for a great little arc where you form a large expedition to go purge their xeno assesInitially they were NPC only and that is their intended role but I received several requests to make them playable so I added the option but personally I agree with you. Suffer Not The Alien To Live!
though they're suspiciously technologically advanced/developed colony wise for a buncha bugs, imoWell they are a race of evolved insectoids that are from outside Corvus so their tech is from a different mindset and evolved path than Humanity. If you stack them against the Ordos remnant tech which is derived from Human tech but evolved by AI they are not as advanced. I did my best to give them some unique punch while also give them a couple weaknesses so they would be a threat but not an endgame one, I'll leave that to the Doritos. :)
I can go and check again in game but I think an easy way to solve the issue of the hivers markets showing up onto the "products" lists when you're trading would be to simply throw their accessibility bonus to get their planets past 100% accessibility. I feel like it might make them harder by default but just ensuring that each of their markets produce the goods they need then boosting up their natural accessibility up thanks to how the game works making every hostile faction drop accessibility, I saw it put into practice once where someone make the pather's have a faction wide bonus to their planets to give their markets more access and it immediately made their planets roughly stabilize and no longer show up with huge deficits on my markets tab. I think that could be applied here and get rid of the hivers from immediately having huge deficits in random resources across most of their planets with most of their resources as without anyone actually hitting their commodities trade fleets out on the fringes of the sector the only way they'd be having their deficit markets showing up would be from very very poor accessibility.This is the first time someone has reported that their issue was Hiver deficit, the complaints I have received in the past were regarding their overages. That made sense to me because I have them overproduce trade goods since they cannot trade with other factions. I have not been in game in a bit but next time I can, I'll open up Stelnet and look for myself and see if there are any shortfalls in their closed economy. If I find any, I can just add an industry to one of the planets that addresses it.
As to adjusting their accessibility, I am not sure I could do that without severely effecting their growth and income generation, both of which are core to their invasion and colony fleets.
That's fair and I can of course double check myself as the last time I used hive was some time ago and it seemed to be going both directions for me personally, though I do play modded a bit more chaotically than I think most people would prefer or at least from what I've seen. Either way though I can go ahead and start checking once again to make sure I'm not going crazy or should be simply shut up.
Yeah ok that makes sense. I was more just speaking from the terms of the immediate early game where when one would start looking for things to generate income and suddenly instead of being able to find any good markets to buy from they get to see the hivers having their commodity markets over produce like mad and being the "best locations to buy from" as clearly flying into hiver space is a safe and healthy option for an independent trader.
Counter consideration that I just had would be to try and balance out their productions to being net neutral and then giving their markets an accessibility boon so they neither over produce or under produce and of course once they start expanding out into new systems to colonize it starts to turn into a them problem producing the goods they need, that way at least the player isn't struggling to read the supply and demand menu right out the gates and having no real good idea as to where to buy anything.After the holidays I will tinker with their markets. I have seen some areas of overabundance and I believe it was because when I set them up initially they only had two systems on the far NW corner and one in the SE corner. I thought that would force them to travel the map more but I found out that it just made them weak. So instead I moved the SE one near the other two but never adjusted the overall output since each system has a closed economy. However they will trade with each other and i did not take into account that adding that third system so close that they have surplus.
Hi there,Hello there, yea the mod has been out for a bit and the thread can be a bit of a slog to read though :) I'll help best as I can.
Sorry if it has been asked before but this thread is quite the long read.
I was wondering if there was any simple way (i.e tweak some already existing values in a file) in order to slightly slow-down the hiver's feast on the core world.I designed the mod to be used with a few mod factions installed. If you are playing with them with just vanilla factions then they will romp through the sector in no time. They are enemies to all so any faction you install will counter invade them and the more you have the slower their advance because they need to use their fleets in defense rather than invasion. One I would recommend is Peplat's Xhan Empire https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=17972.0 as it is not only a well made faction but their system is very well defended and situated directly in the path of the Hiver invasion fleets so they also unintentionally act as bulwark.
I favor slow-paced game with a rough start so the first I tried this mod and by the time I was getting somewhere the hiver had already gulped down westernesse and swiss-cheesed the rest of the core.You can choose the option when starting a game under NEX to delay factions from sending colony fleets until the player has a colony and that will slow them down. Also if you are comfortable editing code, you can go to data\world\factions and open HIVER.faction with an editor. I recommend notepad++ if you do not have an editor, it is free and recognizes Java script. Once opened, navigate to line 265 "aggression":5, and lower that number. The current setting of 5 is the maximum so set it lower and they will be less aggressive but that needs to be done before a game is started. Be cautious with that because that will effect the entire playthrough.
And it's fine, it's just happening a bit too fast for my taste :)
Thx in advance.Thank you for reaching out, I am sure you are not the only player who faces this issue. Try those and see if it is what you are looking for and I will think more on ways to make them easier that a player could implement.
That's just perfect.Ah excellent, I am glad I could help. I would be curious how it goes once you've played a bit if you would not mind sharing.
I'll add that faction, set aggression to like 4 and/or delay until 1st colony and I should be good to go !
Thx again :D
Destiny 2 vibes :oThat is a new one, I hope it is because you enjoy Destiny 2 :)
What's next, the Cabal Corporation?Already done by Dark.Revenant https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=11002.0 and much better than anything I could bang out. ;)
Hi there!Good morning, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! :)
First, I wanted to express my deep thanks for your mod. I really like how it plays the big doom threat in my game; it adds so much tension!That is so kind of you to say. I made them exactly for that reason as I felt the game lacked a bit in danger mid way though a game once I had a decent fleet.
Now... I was going to ask something along the lines of what davreivv wrote, and you answered perfectly, so double thanks :)Well double you are welcome! ;)
I too play with a very rough start and excruciatingly high upkeep for my fleet (5x crew salary and many other things) so it is very hard to ramp up fast enough to counter them, and I already see they are conquering a lot of worlds.I am currently playing a challenging setup myself. The Underworld mod gives a custom start called the Infernal machine that is a scrapped dreadnaught that costs millions to repair but well worth the effort once you do as it is one of the most deadly ships. You start at unfriendly with all factions except independent so making money is hard. To compilate it I have it set to ironman mode and spacer obligation so no restarts and a monthly debt that gets larger the more I level up. Quite the struggle but mining and scavenging got me through the early game and I have to say it is the best challenge I've had to far.
I'll add a few more factions, even if I have already the IX battlegroup, Spindle, buffed up pirates and remnants, etc.Yea those are good ones to have. I play a very mod heavy game myself as there are so many good ones out there that add to the experience plus it helps me ensure that my mods are compatible.
So there's no way to add these guys to an existing save right?Hello there.
From the readme, it appears that the author of RATs has devised a method for integrating factions and systems into ongoing games.Thank you for the tip, I do use RAT but had not considered that a candidate for a solution.
I'm still engaged in battling the Hivers, and so far, it's going well. They truly serve as an excellent "Scarecrow" faction, perfect for instilling tension and the sense of an escalating threat. The question, "Will I amass enough power in time to eventually save the sector from them?" is what really drives me.Excellent, that is what I intended and it is so nice to hear that since I have been tinkering with the mod for quite some time now (changelog for details) it is good to know someone is enjoying it.
Alternatively, I actually started a new game and introduced the Xan Empire, as it was purported to act as a bulwark against the Hivers. It's important for the unaware public to know that the Hivers are capable of launching attacks on them while simultaneously targeting the sector's main planets! I believe this will hinder them to some extent. ;DThey are not a foolproof solution as that mod predates mine but not only is a well made mod but it is very well defended. So as it is the closest to the Hiver systems they tend to invade them first and get obliterated. Also as another way to slow them down, install more faction mods. The more factions (Hivers hate ALL factions) the more they will be counter invaded which will have them dedicate their fleets to defense rater than invasion and colonization.
Now, for some genuinely constructive feedback, would it be feasible for Hiver markets to conceal their prices? Displaying them seems somewhat unrealistic, considering they are an insect society with no interest in trade, only in annihilation. Additionally, it might be worth considering the removal of certain missions they offer, like surveying a planet, as this doesn't align with Hiver behavior—they wouldn't request mere humans to survey planets.That is a lingering problem that I have been trying to fix. I reached out to Alex and he gave me some suggestions but when I implemented them it did indeed hide their markets. The problem was though it also hid them from Hivers themselves and they could no longer trade with themselves. Since they are hostile to all it gutted their ability to form fleets so um that was a no go :) As another potential solution I reached out to the author of Stelnet and they said it was something they could potentially add but that was months ago and still no update on that.
Oh, I should have suspected you knew seeing markets was not optimal. I was naive enough to think it was easy to fix. Do what you can, no problem!Heh I get that. When I started making mods I was naïve enough to think, hey I can do this how hard can it be? Lol. I am self taught with JavaScript and just leaned things as I needed to. Heck I do not even know how to use a complier and write my mods manually in notepad++. I told that once to a mod maker who was helping me and their response was !!!??? ;) There is probably a way to do it, I just have a hole in my knowledge since I never looked into it before.
About mods adding planets mid-game, LOST_SECTOR does also that for Kesteven. And the mod author of Secrets of the Frontier indicates his mod can be added mid-game and I do think it also instanciates some worlds on the fly.Thank you for another lead, that is a must have mod in my games so I will look into that one as well. The issue is, from my previous investigations, is that I have Hivers set up as a playable faction so they can use the Nexerelin invasion and colonization scripts. That is why when I looked into other enemy mods like Agni or Bladebreakers it was not a direct comparison since those enemies do not use those scripts. Ugh anyway not to bore you with the details, I am already a TLDR kind of guy.
Keep up the good work :)
I just odwnloaded the mod to try it out and it gives this error:Hello there, I looked over my code but I am a bit stumped on this. I run both mods and never ran into that and both mods have been out for quite some time and this is the first time that has been reported. All HIVERmodPlugin does is generate the faction when stating a new game which is pretty boilerplate for most faction mods. Starship Legends has their scripts compiled in JAR format so I have not been able to check on their end as I do not know how to use a compiler. But since it has not been reported before I think a third mod may be responsible.
java.lang.RuntimeException: Error loading [data.scripts.HIVERmodPlugin]
at com.fs.starfarer.loading.scripts.ScriptStore$3.run(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:750)
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: File 'data/scripts/util.java', Line 445, Column 0: Non-abstract class "starship_legends.Util$1" must implement method "public abstract int java.util.Comparator.compare(java.lang.Object, java.lang.Object)"
Is there a known conflict with starship legends? It seems to be complaining about non-implemented method.
Roger Bacon, as in the famous DW2 modder?Hello again and thank you for the suggestion. I currently have some distinction in the ships which may or may not be apparent. The capital freighter (Chalcosoma) and tanker (Cerambycidae) share the same model which are quite distinctive from the rest of their fleet with the difference between the two being the tanker variant is red (standard tanker color). The troop transport (Hornet) is the only bright green/yellow ship and stands out. The medium (Swimmer) and small (Viridula) tankers are the only ships that have bright red areas that represents a bio version of a fuel tank. The one that does not really stand out to me is the medium freighter (Scarab) so I guess I could edit that one more. Knowing that, do you have any specific suggestions because it is a bit of work to remake ships and I have already done it 4 times so I want to make sure that we have clarity.
@Dazs ... Playing more against the Hiver, a cosmetic remark (which is minor admittedly) ... The insects-like shapes are difficult to memorize. Perhaps they could be altered so that civilian (troop transports, tankers) have some specifics (no pincers perhaps?) while carriers have another thing (sting?) while combat ships have pincers or something?
I appreciate you reaching out but I am sorry I could not be more help more. I am an ameture mod maker and not as knowledgeable as other mod authors, maybe Sundog would have a better answer if you ask on their mod thread.
Roger Bacon, as in the famous DW2 modder?
OK, thanks anyway. I'll dig into it and see waht I can learn. I'll let you know if I find the cause and solution.I would appreciate that, here is a list of my current enabled mods:
@Dazs, it's ok, I'll try to learn the forms and shapes, don't waste hours on that, if you already retouched them 4 times. I guess it's very much "YMMV" for many people and someone might ask for something else.Well they ARE aliens after all, makes sense their designs are not easily understood :) Seriously though, I do try my best to accommodate players when their concerns are valid and doable. There is an alternate mechanical looking ship pack for Hivers in the ZIP you may want to look over if bugs aren't your thing.
I found the conflict. In Starship Legends I had included the decompiled java files and sometimes that causes issues as it differs slightly from the compiled version. After removing them, it loads fine now.Ah that is a relief, thank you for letting me know. I was going over the code between SL and Hiver and could not find anything.
I'm on episode 6 of your video series. I watch them at lunchtime. It's what motivated me to install the mod.Well its not my series per se, a player messaged me on discord about it and I though it was an interesting watch. I see so many people just dismiss Hivers because they do not fit in the cookie cutter mold gameplay and label them OP. I found it refreshing to see someone figure out their weaknesses and come up with tactics to address them.
You can be proud of you! Many players definitely like the challenge the Swarm gives.Love to hate them is the best compliment a player can give. Thank you for sharing this it made my day! :)
https://www.reddit.com/r/starsector/comments/1aemxl3/well_well_well_if_it_isnt_the_consequences_of_my/
Any chance we can get some options for finetuning the mod in settings? Nex and a bunch of other mods now use the ingame interface for settings and it's really nice to be able to do that without having to go into the config files in the mod directory.I am not that skilled in Java so I do not think I can do that own my own. I can look into Lunalib and see how it integrates with mods and offers the ability to modify mod files. I am unsure if that is the answer but I will try there first.
On that note as well do you have plans to make more options available? I really like the mod as a concept but it's been sort of a chore to play with because the Hivers are so aggressive from the get-go and any game with them enabled basically revolves entirely around them and their invasions. I use Nex with the option that makes it so markets present at game start can't be invaded, this makes the Hive fairly passive early on, right up until I build my first colony. Then there is never a point where a Hiver fleet isn't on its way to raid, invade or bombard my colonies.I appreciate your point and agree to an extent. Using that Nex option does give the player breathing room to build up a fleet and credits to start a colony. There are already threats in the game that you can engage with at your leisure. However the point of this mod is to present a growing threat that the player has to deal with eventually before it becomes too big to handle. I made it for a Nexerelin game the has several mod factions installed. Balance wise, I'd say at least 4-5 should be enough to slow them down as they will be hated by them and busy fighting them rather than you.
I love this mod but kinda wish there was a way to have them ramp up their aggressiveness I normally play low powered stuff with Legio as the "main boss" and Hivers were a good way to harass them but I tried without Legio and the galaxy became food a bit too fast.That is nice to hear thank you for the kind word. Now here I think we have the opposite request. Best I can say is what I said above, I can look into Lunalib and see how it works.
Sorry I could not give a better answer but I am a bear of little brain. :(
Heh thank you, I appreciate that. I guess what I mean by that is my creativity and ideas outstrip my ability to bring them to fruition. There are so many aspects to my mods that I would love to add but I have failed several times due to my lack of skill/learning.Sorry I could not give a better answer but I am a bear of little brain. :(
Hey there Dazs. Your "little brain" as you call it made an awesome endgame experience of epic proportions lol..
After watching various youtubers playing against the hive made me reinstall the game just to have a blast with the swarm.I have caught one or two streamers featuring Hiver Swarm, which is your favorite?
Sadly i stiil need to wait for some mods to update for a legit playthrough :/..I am most recently saddened that Vayra and Tartiflette have left the scene. I've been playing this game for years and I have seen mod makers that I have enjoyed just stop posting and every time I am a little saddened. There are so many I could list but this reply is going to be TLDR as it is so I'll refrain from the eyeball strain :)
Originaly i stopped playing when i run out of things to do and everything felt too "domesticated" in my runs (the fact that mods kept getting stricktly balanced for vanilla runs also soured me a bit :p).OMG I have to give you a "big THANK YOU" in return for that. I get so much trolling on discord about how my mods aren't balanced from players who just want what other mods already offer it is so welcome to get a nice comment. ;D
...Sooo A big THANK YOU for modding this fine game is a must.
On the point now.Oh I agree and I do plan to try this weekend when I have time to dedicate to it but I fear it may be beyond me. Once bitten twice shy and all that. Still I will give it a good faith effort and already have 6 hours blocked off to dedicate to it.
It might be nice if you could create a main menu in options menu like other mods and have those lines/parameters you mentioned as sliders there (for difficulty options). Adding an option for the swarm to appear after vanilla library/main campaign quests are finished would also be a very welcoming gift for new players. Still it's fine like that too. We common players getting spoiled big times with the ammount of content and features modders bring anyways.
PS: If you are planning to expand this mod an interesting idea would be making a parasitic core of shorts like ai cores.Interesting idea that I had not considered. I do have an option to make them playable built into the mod but that would streamline it a bit. It's a big picture idea and no eta on that one but it's on the to-try list.
Aside from the possibility of piloting stolen ships the core may have infinite possibilities to expand on.
I have caught one or two streamers featuring Hiver Swarm, which is your favorite?
Put aside random videos and lores i like to watch long episodic playthroughs and the most prominent ones that highlight the swarm fights are from Butter Baronet (my current favorite) and Asher games. there are also some older series like Notscoop's and Fen Muir's that have them in their playthroughs but they are earlier versions and not as impactful as the 2 aformentioned.A player on discord messaged me directly about Butter Baronet's videos and I liked them so much I have featured them on this forum. I'll look into Asher games, thank you for the recommendation. I learn so much watching or reading about how people interact with my my mods. I am just an old guy that really enjoys this game. I want to support it so the more the word gets out, the more potential cash flow Fractal Softworks can earn to put toward a released date and beyond.
About Varya's sector.. Might as well be the biggest loss indeed since besides the content of the mod many crossmod features got hit hard in other mods as well.I am currently having that issue with JYD. I put a lot of work in making a lore that Dogstar was taken over by the independents from pirates and added Vayra bounties to hunt them down with increasing difficulty. Now with that mod depreciated, magiclib is sort of supporting them but I need to integrate it there to ensure they work correctly because currently they are all wonky.
I miss mostly utility mods and super weapons arsenal the same way. Also waiting to see about the Star Wars mod for the huge op ships and weapons.. Still hoping on that one :) .I am a bit concerned how slow to update some of the mods have been. In past updates you would generally see all major mods updated within the week.
As for the balance thing.. Ii my opinion what's the point modding the game, adding new factions ect if not to upset the accustomed boring balanced state of a game through time? Is it Just cosmetic?Well there is something to be said for aesthetics, some players just want cooler looking ships than what vanilla offers and I respect that. I try to offer that with my poor graphics skills but that is not the focus. I want to offer things that others do not, aspects of the game I find there to be a need to fill. For example: the game has mining weapons and makes references to miners but there is no mining in the game, what the what? Exerelin/Nexerelin to the rescue! Realizing I could add content to this game was one of my inspirations to make mods. TBH I make my mods for my personal enjoyment and share them with the hope that a few players find something enjoyable about them.
If the mod works fine and make people squirm then you are doing something sinfully right 8) ..So jokes on them !! Cheers !!Lol indeed. I tend to judge things and people not on who likes them but on what kind of person does not like them :)
I'm going to get this out of the way so this doesn't feel like a list of complaints: AWESOME MOD!!First off, thank you for taking the time to give feedback, I do not consider "complaints" a negative but rather someone who likes the mod enough to offer an opinion on how it could be better. Secondly, thank you for the kind words. :)
The ship designs are absolutely beautiful, and I love the idea of a less static threat than the [REDACTED]. Bringing a heavily themed faction into the game is also great.
However, in the current state, I feel some issues really hold the mod back.The mod comes with them as recoverable as that is the majority opinion on the matter based on feedback I have gotten over the years. The side effect of that is not only are they recoverable by the player but also by the NPC. That is a game mechanic that I cannot really effect to my knowledge. I do agree with your lore comment since they are an alien species that use a different construction technique it would track that Corvus humans would struggle to adapt the tech to their needs which is why I added an optional file in the mod that makes Hiver ships unrecoverable. The instructions are in a file called README in the mod and also on the first page of the forum. If enabled neither the player nor the NPC can recover their hulls.
I'll start with the minor: I've seen smuggler fleets using Hiver ships, specifically ones transporting ship hulls. I'm not sure if that's intentional behavior, or if those were disabled and taken in combat, but it feels a little weird in terms of lore/balance/immersion.
Hiver planets show up in the market data of items, leading to the player being able to pinpoint them at the start of the game. I think this is very much known, and you probably haven't found a workaround, as it's written into the faction lore (love that).Oh I have tried several ways to hide their markets but each time it tanked their economy and gutted their ability to form fleets. I did reach out to the author of Stelnet to see if there was a way using that mod and I was told they would look into adding it but the mod has not been updated in quite some time.
My modding experience is very limited, but you might be able to set limits on their markets so that they never have the highest or lowest price for items.What causes that is that I had to set them up as an insular economy since they hate and are hated by everyone they can only trade with themselves. Their systems have more planets than standard and thus more industry capacity than the norm. By having to supply all the resources for heavy industry there are overages in some items, mainly in the feeder commodities like ore. They require all this industry because it is the in-game economy of a faction that supports their fleets and they need multiple fleets to defend their systems from attacks, colonize other systems and send out strong invasion fleets to overcome the obstacles of Pirates and Remnant Odro fleets that attack them on their long journey to reach the core.
All of that is a bit moot though, as you can see their systems on the map. I'm assuming there's a way to hide these, as pather and pirate systems outside the core sector are hidden from the player, and it would go a long way to make the discovery of the hive feel more natural.Another limitation of the game I have to abide by. Nexerelin is a required mod for HIVER because that is needed to enable invasions and colonization fleets. The way Nex does that is it only has playable factions able to form those invasion and colony fleets. They are technically a playable faction and I do have instructions to do that in the README. However NEX does allow for a "playable" faction to also not be played by the human player so that is how they are able to use the NEX features but not be playable. Now that may have been TLDR but because of that workaround their planets show up on the map because by giving them a faction listing, the base game puts them on the map. Bottom line Alex has stated multiple times he wants Starsector to be an exploration game. NEX turns the game into a 4x game and I am essentially caught between the game mechanics of both ideas and did my best.
Beyond that is the biggest problem: The invasions. I have no problem with the Hive threatening the core sector or being difficult to fight, that's part of their appeal to me, but with the default Nexerelin settings they start a full-scale invasion of the core sector 90 days after game start, which really doesn't seem to fit with their lore. I'm not sure if it's their fleet doctrine, their insane markets giving them more invasion strength, bad luck, or some combination of these, but I have not actually seen them lose an invasion. I've seen these exact planets fend off [REDACTED] attacks in previous playthroughs, which doesn't fit with the strength level you imply/intend. Part of the problem is definitely Nexerelin's AI, as even though every single faction has lost planets to the Hive they are still coalition warring themselves (mount-and-blade-level tactics). As it is, every single planet that can be invaded (no story protection) looks to be doomed with the default NEX/Hive settings. It's very difficult to balance around a variety of play styles and skill levels, but it feels like the player has to speedrun a large fleet and spearhead the defense on every front to prevent the sector from becoming the universe's largest ant infestation. It holds the entire experience back significantly. {EDIT: I've seen your past comment that the Hive shouldn't be something the player can choose when to fight, and I completely agree. However as it is, it feels like a "game ender" event gets plopped down from game start, which doesn't fit with the Hive being a scaling midgame threat that will eventually be a problem, but not for a while.}Well there is an option when you use NEX at the start of the game when you are making your character to delay invasions until your first colony is built. This option turns off the invasion mechanic and I recommend that setting to give the player some breathing room to build up a solid fleet and enough credits to jumpstart their first colony.
I really don't know how to fix this, as I said my modding experience is very limited, but I have a few loose concepts that could help if added. The Hive could have a timer before beginning attacks/expansion to allow the player to get established. The Hive could slowly expand and not attack until its planets reach closer to the core systems. Hive markets could be adjusted to lower the frequency of attacks. The strength/generation of attack fleets could be adjusted to give AI planets a better chance at surviving them. If you can improve the balancing/difficulty curve of the hive I think it could bring this mod close to the quality of the base game.The issue mainly stems from them having no friends in the game. They are constantly attacked by the NPC factions and the more mod factions they player has installed, the slower they expand. I would recommend having at least 4-5 mod factions installed, any that you like should suffice but some do perform vs Hivers more than others. I have been asked a couple times to make a toned down version of the mod for players who do not want to deal with them but want them in the game. I am a little backed up on mod requests ATM but making that alternate toned version is still on my to-do list. I did recently include instructions on the main forum page on how you can manually adjust the difficulty level of the mod so I would recommend reading that over in the mean time.
The only issue I have besides the above is that the borders on the ships have some sort of artifacting that detracts from their incredible visual style. {EDIT2: I can't tell if this is a result of a weird transparency issue, snipping mistakes, image compression, or hard edges in the ship design. It looks like the vanilla ships use some sort of edge shading to help with this. Not sure - I'm not an artist} Keep up the great work, and I hope you find solutions to these problems.Is that all the ships or only certain ones, if you could identify which ones it would help. I can certainly go over the details of the images and see if I notice any loose artifacts but it would be better to know which are the worst.
Beyond that is the biggest problem: The invasions. I have no problem with the Hive threatening the core sector or being difficult to fight, that's part of their appeal to me, but with the default Nexerelin settings they start a full-scale invasion of the core sector 90 days after game start, which really doesn't seem to fit with their lore. I'm not sure if it's their fleet doctrine, their insane markets giving them more invasion strength, bad luck, or some combination of these, but I have not actually seen them lose an invasion. I've seen these exact planets fend off [REDACTED] attacks in previous playthroughs, which doesn't fit with the strength level you imply/intend. Part of the problem is definitely Nexerelin's AI, as even though every single faction has lost planets to the Hive they are still coalition warring themselves (mount-and-blade-level tactics). As it is, every single planet that can be invaded (no story protection) looks to be doomed with the default NEX/Hive settings. It's very difficult to balance around a variety of play styles and skill levels, but it feels like the player has to speedrun a large fleet and spearhead the defense on every front to prevent the sector from becoming the universe's largest ant infestation. It holds the entire experience back significantly. {EDIT: I've seen your past comment that the Hive shouldn't be something the player can choose when to fight, and I completely agree. However as it is, it feels like a "game ender" event gets plopped down from game start, which doesn't fit with the Hive being a scaling midgame threat that will eventually be a problem, but not for a while.}Well there is an option when you use NEX at the start of the game when you are making your character to delay invasions until your first colony is built. This option turns off the invasion mechanic and I recommend that setting to give the player some breathing room to build up a solid fleet and enough credits to jumpstart their first colony.
I really don't know how to fix this, as I said my modding experience is very limited, but I have a few loose concepts that could help if added. The Hive could have a timer before beginning attacks/expansion to allow the player to get established.
*Unlurks*Lurker no lurking! :)
I'll add that you can also adjust the Day limit, if instead of being limited to when you feel built up enough to start a colony, you can have a timer to work against, and give you breathing room to have the colony set up if you don't lolygag like me.Good point that I neglected to point out thank you. In game, asuming you have Lunalib, press f2 and scroll down to the Nexerelin tab. Now press the "fleets and Battles" tab at the top.
In the off chance you don't know how to access the in-game mod menu, it's F2 (Assuming you have that mod installed too, but I think it's a dependency now.), and settings can be tweaked on the fly.
Is that all the ships or only certain ones, if you could identify which ones it would help. I can certainly go over the details of the images and see if I notice any loose artifacts but it would be better to know which are the worst.Haven't run into the problematic ships again, I'll make note of which ones if I see them.
That's fine, they do have alien names and even I have to think twice about them when I reference them :) I'll give them all a once over on my end to see if I notice anything, I appreciate the follow up.Is that all the ships or only certain ones, if you could identify which ones it would help. I can certainly go over the details of the images and see if I notice any loose artifacts but it would be better to know which are the worst.Haven't run into the problematic ships again, I'll make note of which ones if I see them.
Two more things I noticed:It has been awhile since I did that I am unsure myself. As long as it does not crash the game there is no real harm adding them. I can certainly try adding those tags and see if it works.
In Data/Hulls/unrecoverable_ship_data several of the ships are missing the two no_drop and restricted tags, which I think might make them drop in game. They DO have the unboardable HINT status, which might do the same thing - I'm not sure.
There is no alternative wing_data.csv in the same folder, which I think is needed for players who don't want to be able to loot or buy Hiver fighters. Even after changing the other files around, I still find and can buy the fighter wings. If it's as simple as adding no_bp_drop, restricted, no_drop_salvage, no_dealer, no_sell or some selection of these to each fighter's tags in the wing_data, that would probably be easy enough to add to the instructions for people to paste in.I am a bit embarrassed that it had not even occurred to me to make an alternate wings file. I'll add one in the next update, thank you for this.
EDIT: I think adding that mess of tags on has worked, I'll need to check more markets though
Hoho :o.. Dazs at it on mad schedules ::). I just spamming to say hi ;DAnd runnin' runnin'
Another bug - This one really confuses me. After winning a battle with a hiver fleet I looted them, which was normal. However when I scavenged their debris field it contained a Svrerresh Launcher, even though I am using the alternative weapon_data.csv . Looking at the file, it seems like it has all the tags that should stop it from dropping as loot, so I'm not sure what is causing this.Hello there, thank you for reporting this. That is a puzzler, I'll certainly take a look at the associated files and see what may be the issue. How many battles from them have you looted before this happened? I just finished an update for CFT and HIVER is next in line so I'll add this to the list.
I enjoy the mod. I don't have a problem fighting them. Capitals and heavy cruisers with long range burst damage seems to be the cure. Fleets focused on a lot of "normal" destroyers and frigates seems to be too bugged down by the enemy fighter wings, before they are destroyed by the main fleet. There are probably exceptions and I'm probably an idiot too, but that was my experience.Thank you for the kind words and I am happy to hear you are enjoying the mod. Oh no need to put yourself down like that, your strategy is a solid one. Smaller ships do struggle with Hivers with their lack of pd mounts or interceptor wings to counter the Hiver strategy but that is intended. They are a mid to end game faction and early game wolfpack tactics will struggle against them.
The problem I sort of have is with the hiver weapons. They are too darn powerful. No one is forcing me to use them, I understand that. Every other energy weapon is however inferior by a mile. I'd rather the weapons by less flux effecient and the hiver ships maybe having a little better flux dissipation. The 20 cost medium energy weapon almost has the firepower of a plasma cannon, but with a quarter of its flux/second. The hyper-exiters are also crazy broken albeit not as flux effecient (their dps is insane for a small energy weapon). Try a shield shunted mantis (and whatever other ship mods you feel like using) loaded with those, the 20 medium cost energy weapons, and the long range 22 cost large weapon. Which is also crazy powerful and incredibly flux efficient. It burps out its orange lasers and purple plasma balls and the Paragon in the sim is dead in the blink of an eye.The Hiver ships paired with their weapons are a set piece and intended to work together. I agree their weapons can be extremely powerful if a player uses them on non-hiver ships. But that is a choice that is up to the player, whether to use them or not. I did add instructions on how to make the ships and or weapons not drop as loot for players that did want the temptation to use the Hiver ships, weapons or both. It is a balance act, I can either make the ships or the weapons flux efficient. The issue with making the ships more flux efficient is that does not only effect weapon use but also shield capacity and regen which they rely on for their defense. I made the weapons more OP because you can always use vanilla weapons on a captured Hiver ship to tone it down but the but Hivers will only use Hiver weapons.
I don't quite understand, why they have to be that flux effecient and damaging.Hivers need to be OP in some way as they have an entire sector to fight and the options I have to make them easier to fight revolves around the amount of ships they produce. For example, most of the ways to make them easier is by reducing their invasion fleets or adding more faction mods to counter them before they get to the player. If I buff the ships and weaken the weapons it would not be as impactful to adjust the mod since the invasion fleets are the same size, just less of them.
I apologize if this has been asked before but I was curious if it was possible to set a timer so that the Hivers stay dormant for a set amount of time upon game start, or perhaps a setting like Nexerelin has for preventing faction colony expeditions until the player founds a colony, so that they don't start razing the sector right off the bat?No need to apologize, I welcome questions and comments. It has been asked before and I have looked into it but did not find a way to do it for an individual faction. As you have already pointed out, NEX has an option that will delay them but it will also delay all factions so it is not ideal. Another way is to install more faction mods that will attack them and slow them down but again, not ideal.
Thank you for the fine reply. I wasn't quite sure for the reasons. As I read the pages, it was noted, how it was meant to be a mid-game threat. So it got me even more curious about the weapons.Thank you for understanding. I am always open to comments and do try to accommodate requests if it is with the vision of the mod but I am no Java programmer. I look at the wiki and discord # and can understand about 1 in 10 of what is written. :) I am going to tap out a requested update for Ore Refinery soon and JYD has some requests but I can fit in a Hiver lookover before doing yet another CFT update that is also in the queue.
The mod is wonderful and you do a good job.That is so nice to hear, I appreciate that. I had a vision for it when I started the mod and over the years it is getting closer with the help of suggestions and comments like yours.
How do you guys deal with their mass fighters? Not only are they insanely tanky, they also replenish very fastGood morning,
How do you guys deal with their mass fighters? Not only are they insanely tanky, they also replenish very fast
How do you guys deal with their mass fighters? Not only are they insanely tanky, they also replenish very fast
Thr Prv faction mod has a pair of beam weapons that create fragmentation damage anomalies on hits which are AMAZING for mass fighter annihilation. The medium mount one functions like a standard beam weapon, more or less, that creates the anomalies on impact. The large mount version, however, fires in a sweeping arc creating anomalies where the beam ends regardless of whether or not it hits something. On top of that it can be fired at any location up to max range to create a swath of anomalies wherever you want without having to strike an object with the beam. These two weapons (as well as the missile variant) can be augmented with the hullmod 4D Lensing which increases anomaly size, damage and duration. If you have Prv installed I highly recommend trying those two weapons.
OoOooo thank you for weighing in. I use Prv but has not considered that nor seen it recommended. I'll have to try that strategy out when I am done updating my mods and can get back to playing :)
Honestly, the best advice I can give for dealing with fighters is to largely ignore small weapon mounts and start finding ways to fit medium and even large anti-fighter weapons. Capital ships may be able to use small mounts as effective PD, but without the capital range buffs, other ships just don't cut it.In general when I go against the Hivers I have a big ole tank ship to soak that has medium and large PD weapons for the fighters mixed in with a couple HE for the hiver ships. Then I flank that one with battle cruisers on each side and the rest cruisers. Destroyers/frigates just cannot stick in, unless they are super mod ones.
Devastators are pretty decent HE damage and locusts do pretty good pressure if you've got some something to deal with shields and armor. Same for Paladin PD.All excellent suggestions, thank you for sharing.
And proximity mines. Never forget proximity mines. Those are quite nice.
Also, IPDAI hullmod is great. Almost all the benefits of the skill without a skill point.
I've been very skeptical of most fragmentation weapons since starting to play Starsector because while they excel at tearing apart hull my bigger concerns have always been getting to the hull in the first place.I am a fan of frag weapons personally. You'll find them in all my faction mods and heck even the Hivers have a frag beam :)
However the persistent damage that the anomalies inflict from these weapons and the fact that they can be significantly buffed by building in the 4D Lensing hullmod led me to finally try these weapons for purposes other than PD and I really like them! Though I'm not sure I'd give the large mount version to my NPC captains as those have the potential for some extreme friendly fire incidents until seeing they get used in the simulator.NPC's have gotten smarter over the years and I hope it gets tighter with future patches but yea sometimes they make some random decisions that boggle the mind.
There are also a large mount missile called the Skata, I think, that fires swarms of energy damage missiles that also create those anomalies, though I'm not sure if they would be quite as effective against fighters. Though, to be fair, I haven't tried using them for that yet.I had to look that one up but yea the LRM line of weapons in general have a warm place in my heart. Being a pure salvager I do not come across PRV weapons much in my game so I'd be curious of your results.
Not sure if it's a known issue, but at least one Hiver weapon still drops even with everything set to "unrecoverable":Hello there, thank you for the report. I am assuming you have the unrecoverable_weapon_data.csv renamed to weapon_data.csv based on your message. If that is the case please clarify as if that was done, in *should* not have happened. Either way I'll look into it for the next Hiver update.
https://i.imgur.com/k8OPOzx.png
Yes, I did, for both weapons and hulls. And it mostly works, this and fighters were the only things I got after fighting ~300dp hiver fleet.Not sure if it's a known issue, but at least one Hiver weapon still drops even with everything set to "unrecoverable":Hello there, thank you for the report. I am assuming you have the unrecoverable_weapon_data.csv renamed to weapon_data.csv based on your message. If that is the case please clarify as if that was done, in *should* not have happened. Either way I'll look into it for the next Hiver update.
https://i.imgur.com/k8OPOzx.png
Thank you for the follow up, I most likely missed a tag on that weapon but either way I'll give those files a once over when I can. I just finished a JYD update and still have TTSC and CFT to go and they have a couple more issues but I will certainly look into this for Hiver once those are done.Yes, I did, for both weapons and hulls. And it mostly works, this and fighters were the only things I got after fighting ~300dp hiver fleet.Not sure if it's a known issue, but at least one Hiver weapon still drops even with everything set to "unrecoverable":Hello there, thank you for the report. I am assuming you have the unrecoverable_weapon_data.csv renamed to weapon_data.csv based on your message. If that is the case please clarify as if that was done, in *should* not have happened. Either way I'll look into it for the next Hiver update.
https://i.imgur.com/k8OPOzx.png
I honestly kind of like that they drop as I make good money selling alien biotech to factions for research! ;DWell hello again Shogouki, good to hear from you!
The mod version checker says "Failed to load" from the link you've provided.Good morning, I will try to help figure this out but some more detail would be helpful.
The mod version checker says "Failed to load" from the link you've provided.Good morning, I will try to help figure this out but some more detail would be helpful.
Are you running the game under Linux?
Do you use a third party mod manager or the one that comes with the game launcher?
Have you been able to run it in prior version of the mod with no issue?
I ask these questions because before responding to your message, I downloaded the mod and reinstalled it and received no errors when I started a game. I then checked dropbox where I host the version file to see if it was down but had no problem accessing it. Lastly I downloaded just the version file and it does match the current version of the game and the two embedded links were correct. I am at a bit of a loss why you are receiving an error and my first response was going to be to try re-downloading the mod as your file may have been corrupted but I wanted to cover all the potential bases.
OK thank you for the details. I clicked the link you posted and it is correct. This version of the mod has been out for over a month and this is the first report of this nature that has been reported. I also noted you are having the same issue with Diable Avionics which I also use with no issues. The only thing I can think of is that your IP is blocking the link for one reason or another. I checked Diable's version file and it uses github as it's host and I use dropbox so it is most likely not that. I will look into this further but at this stage I am honestly stumped. Maybe Caymon Joestar has a better answer so keep tuned to that forum as well.The mod version checker says "Failed to load" from the link you've provided.Good morning, I will try to help figure this out but some more detail would be helpful.
Are you running the game under Linux?
Do you use a third party mod manager or the one that comes with the game launcher?
Have you been able to run it in prior version of the mod with no issue?
I ask these questions because before responding to your message, I downloaded the mod and reinstalled it and received no errors when I started a game. I then checked dropbox where I host the version file to see if it was down but had no problem accessing it. Lastly I downloaded just the version file and it does match the current version of the game and the two embedded links were correct. I am at a bit of a loss why you are receiving an error and my first response was going to be to try re-downloading the mod as your file may have been corrupted but I wanted to cover all the potential bases.
Thanks for reaching out so quickly.
I'm currently running the latest version of the game (to my knowlege). Game running on Windows 11, using the mod manager that comes with the game and this is the first time I try to run it. It used to run fine just a few days ago.
I deleted the file from my mod game file and redownloaded the one you provide, but it says:
Name: Hiver Swarm
Installed version: v1.1.1
Online version: Failed to get version
failed to load master version file from URL "https://www.dropbox.com/s/hxk0wha4muuqkkp/HIVER.version?dl=1"
OK thank you for the details. I clicked the link you posted and it is correct. This version of the mod has been out for over a month and this is the first report of this nature that has been reported. I also noted you are having the same issue with Diable Avionics which I also use with no issues. The only thing I can think of is that your IP is blocking the link for one reason or another. I checked Diable's version file and it uses github as it's host and I use dropbox so it is most likely not that. I will look into this further but at this stage I am honestly stumped. Maybe Caymon Joestar has a better answer so keep tuned to that forum as well.The mod version checker says "Failed to load" from the link you've provided.Good morning, I will try to help figure this out but some more detail would be helpful.
Are you running the game under Linux?
Do you use a third party mod manager or the one that comes with the game launcher?
Have you been able to run it in prior version of the mod with no issue?
I ask these questions because before responding to your message, I downloaded the mod and reinstalled it and received no errors when I started a game. I then checked dropbox where I host the version file to see if it was down but had no problem accessing it. Lastly I downloaded just the version file and it does match the current version of the game and the two embedded links were correct. I am at a bit of a loss why you are receiving an error and my first response was going to be to try re-downloading the mod as your file may have been corrupted but I wanted to cover all the potential bases.
Thanks for reaching out so quickly.
I'm currently running the latest version of the game (to my knowlege). Game running on Windows 11, using the mod manager that comes with the game and this is the first time I try to run it. It used to run fine just a few days ago.
I deleted the file from my mod game file and redownloaded the one you provide, but it says:
Name: Hiver Swarm
Installed version: v1.1.1
Online version: Failed to get version
failed to load master version file from URL "https://www.dropbox.com/s/hxk0wha4muuqkkp/HIVER.version?dl=1"
I am sorry I do not have a solution to your problem at this time.
OK thank you for the details. I clicked the link you posted and it is correct. This version of the mod has been out for over a month and this is the first report of this nature that has been reported. I also noted you are having the same issue with Diable Avionics which I also use with no issues. The only thing I can think of is that your IP is blocking the link for one reason or another. I checked Diable's version file and it uses github as it's host and I use dropbox so it is most likely not that. I will look into this further but at this stage I am honestly stumped. Maybe Caymon Joestar has a better answer so keep tuned to that forum as well.The mod version checker says "Failed to load" from the link you've provided.Good morning, I will try to help figure this out but some more detail would be helpful.
Are you running the game under Linux?
Do you use a third party mod manager or the one that comes with the game launcher?
Have you been able to run it in prior version of the mod with no issue?
I ask these questions because before responding to your message, I downloaded the mod and reinstalled it and received no errors when I started a game. I then checked dropbox where I host the version file to see if it was down but had no problem accessing it. Lastly I downloaded just the version file and it does match the current version of the game and the two embedded links were correct. I am at a bit of a loss why you are receiving an error and my first response was going to be to try re-downloading the mod as your file may have been corrupted but I wanted to cover all the potential bases.
Thanks for reaching out so quickly.
I'm currently running the latest version of the game (to my knowlege). Game running on Windows 11, using the mod manager that comes with the game and this is the first time I try to run it. It used to run fine just a few days ago.
I deleted the file from my mod game file and redownloaded the one you provide, but it says:
Name: Hiver Swarm
Installed version: v1.1.1
Online version: Failed to get version
failed to load master version file from URL "https://www.dropbox.com/s/hxk0wha4muuqkkp/HIVER.version?dl=1"
I am sorry I do not have a solution to your problem at this time.
Thank you anyway. I'm not an expert by any means but I'll try to dig a bit see what I can find. One thing I do have is NoScript installed in Firefox (that's what I'm using, btw). I don't know If that could be doing something. I also have the free version of Bitdefender.
OK thank you for the details. I clicked the link you posted and it is correct. This version of the mod has been out for over a month and this is the first report of this nature that has been reported. I also noted you are having the same issue with Diable Avionics which I also use with no issues. The only thing I can think of is that your IP is blocking the link for one reason or another. I checked Diable's version file and it uses github as it's host and I use dropbox so it is most likely not that. I will look into this further but at this stage I am honestly stumped. Maybe Caymon Joestar has a better answer so keep tuned to that forum as well.The mod version checker says "Failed to load" from the link you've provided.Good morning, I will try to help figure this out but some more detail would be helpful.
Are you running the game under Linux?
Do you use a third party mod manager or the one that comes with the game launcher?
Have you been able to run it in prior version of the mod with no issue?
I ask these questions because before responding to your message, I downloaded the mod and reinstalled it and received no errors when I started a game. I then checked dropbox where I host the version file to see if it was down but had no problem accessing it. Lastly I downloaded just the version file and it does match the current version of the game and the two embedded links were correct. I am at a bit of a loss why you are receiving an error and my first response was going to be to try re-downloading the mod as your file may have been corrupted but I wanted to cover all the potential bases.
Thanks for reaching out so quickly.
I'm currently running the latest version of the game (to my knowlege). Game running on Windows 11, using the mod manager that comes with the game and this is the first time I try to run it. It used to run fine just a few days ago.
I deleted the file from my mod game file and redownloaded the one you provide, but it says:
Name: Hiver Swarm
Installed version: v1.1.1
Online version: Failed to get version
failed to load master version file from URL "https://www.dropbox.com/s/hxk0wha4muuqkkp/HIVER.version?dl=1"
I am sorry I do not have a solution to your problem at this time.
Thank you anyway. I'm not an expert by any means but I'll try to dig a bit see what I can find. One thing I do have is NoScript installed in Firefox (that's what I'm using, btw). I don't know If that could be doing something. I also have the free version of Bitdefender.
You might check your Bitdefender logs and check to make sure that it didn't automatically quarantine something. There's been reports of Windows Defender erroneously flagging files in Magiclib this week too.
That'd be a problem with the Version Checker then, not with Hiver Swarm. Note that it isn't "of the game" but from another mod. The basegame has no online version checker for mods.OK thank you for the details. I clicked the link you posted and it is correct. This version of the mod has been out for over a month and this is the first report of this nature that has been reported. I also noted you are having the same issue with Diable Avionics which I also use with no issues. The only thing I can think of is that your IP is blocking the link for one reason or another. I checked Diable's version file and it uses github as it's host and I use dropbox so it is most likely not that. I will look into this further but at this stage I am honestly stumped. Maybe Caymon Joestar has a better answer so keep tuned to that forum as well.The mod version checker says "Failed to load" from the link you've provided.Good morning, I will try to help figure this out but some more detail would be helpful.
Are you running the game under Linux?
Do you use a third party mod manager or the one that comes with the game launcher?
Have you been able to run it in prior version of the mod with no issue?
I ask these questions because before responding to your message, I downloaded the mod and reinstalled it and received no errors when I started a game. I then checked dropbox where I host the version file to see if it was down but had no problem accessing it. Lastly I downloaded just the version file and it does match the current version of the game and the two embedded links were correct. I am at a bit of a loss why you are receiving an error and my first response was going to be to try re-downloading the mod as your file may have been corrupted but I wanted to cover all the potential bases.
Thanks for reaching out so quickly.
I'm currently running the latest version of the game (to my knowlege). Game running on Windows 11, using the mod manager that comes with the game and this is the first time I try to run it. It used to run fine just a few days ago.
I deleted the file from my mod game file and redownloaded the one you provide, but it says:
Name: Hiver Swarm
Installed version: v1.1.1
Online version: Failed to get version
failed to load master version file from URL "https://www.dropbox.com/s/hxk0wha4muuqkkp/HIVER.version?dl=1"
I am sorry I do not have a solution to your problem at this time.
Thank you anyway. I'm not an expert by any means but I'll try to dig a bit see what I can find. One thing I do have is NoScript installed in Firefox (that's what I'm using, btw). I don't know If that could be doing something. I also have the free version of Bitdefender.
You might check your Bitdefender logs and check to make sure that it didn't automatically quarantine something. There's been reports of Windows Defender erroneously flagging files in Magiclib this week too.
Thanks, but I don't see anything odd in the logs and I don't have archives in quarantine. Maybe some other mod I have installed is causing this somehow? I'm gonna try to delete my internet cache and try again.
Btw... What IF the version checker of the game is acting up on some computers?
That'd be a problem with the Version Checker then, not with Hiver Swarm. Note that it isn't "of the game" but from another mod. The basegame has no online version checker for mods.OK thank you for the details. I clicked the link you posted and it is correct. This version of the mod has been out for over a month and this is the first report of this nature that has been reported. I also noted you are having the same issue with Diable Avionics which I also use with no issues. The only thing I can think of is that your IP is blocking the link for one reason or another. I checked Diable's version file and it uses github as it's host and I use dropbox so it is most likely not that. I will look into this further but at this stage I am honestly stumped. Maybe Caymon Joestar has a better answer so keep tuned to that forum as well.The mod version checker says "Failed to load" from the link you've provided.Good morning, I will try to help figure this out but some more detail would be helpful.
Are you running the game under Linux?
Do you use a third party mod manager or the one that comes with the game launcher?
Have you been able to run it in prior version of the mod with no issue?
I ask these questions because before responding to your message, I downloaded the mod and reinstalled it and received no errors when I started a game. I then checked dropbox where I host the version file to see if it was down but had no problem accessing it. Lastly I downloaded just the version file and it does match the current version of the game and the two embedded links were correct. I am at a bit of a loss why you are receiving an error and my first response was going to be to try re-downloading the mod as your file may have been corrupted but I wanted to cover all the potential bases.
Thanks for reaching out so quickly.
I'm currently running the latest version of the game (to my knowlege). Game running on Windows 11, using the mod manager that comes with the game and this is the first time I try to run it. It used to run fine just a few days ago.
I deleted the file from my mod game file and redownloaded the one you provide, but it says:
Name: Hiver Swarm
Installed version: v1.1.1
Online version: Failed to get version
failed to load master version file from URL "https://www.dropbox.com/s/hxk0wha4muuqkkp/HIVER.version?dl=1"
I am sorry I do not have a solution to your problem at this time.
Thank you anyway. I'm not an expert by any means but I'll try to dig a bit see what I can find. One thing I do have is NoScript installed in Firefox (that's what I'm using, btw). I don't know If that could be doing something. I also have the free version of Bitdefender.
You might check your Bitdefender logs and check to make sure that it didn't automatically quarantine something. There's been reports of Windows Defender erroneously flagging files in Magiclib this week too.
Thanks, but I don't see anything odd in the logs and I don't have archives in quarantine. Maybe some other mod I have installed is causing this somehow? I'm gonna try to delete my internet cache and try again.
Btw... What IF the version checker of the game is acting up on some computers?
Maybe a silly question, but I don't suppose you can play as the swarm?Sort of. I do have directions to make them playable in the README file that is included in the Zip as well as under the spoiler tag labeled: The mod comes with several optional files that can be enabled before the start of a new game on this forum page's OP. I state the sort of because they are set up to be a NPC faction so if you make them playable then their faction alignment setting that make them hate and be hated by everyone blend with the "player" faction settings. So essentially when you make them playable it uses the Nexerelin player settings.
Maybe a silly question, but I don't suppose you can play as the swarm?Sort of. I do have directions to make them playable in the README file that is included in the Zip as well as under the spoiler tag labeled: The mod comes with several optional files that can be enabled before the start of a new game on this forum page's OP. I state the sort of because they are set up to be a NPC faction so if you make them playable then their faction alignment setting that make them hate and be hated by everyone blend with the "player" faction settings. So essentially when you make them playable it uses the Nexerelin player settings.
TLDR: If you enable the option to make them playable you will be on good standing with the Hivers however the faction itself will remain enemies with all other factions. As the player you will have some factions that are neutral to favorable as well as several enemies.
Yes, they start off the same as the player but they are set to maximum aggression so within a cycle or two you will see them sending out invasion fleets. Whether they are early, mid or end game threats depends on how many faction mods you have installed. The more enemies they have the slower their progression so a vanilla sector with just Hiver installed they will roll over the vanilla factions real soon.Maybe a silly question, but I don't suppose you can play as the swarm?Sort of. I do have directions to make them playable in the README file that is included in the Zip as well as under the spoiler tag labeled: The mod comes with several optional files that can be enabled before the start of a new game on this forum page's OP. I state the sort of because they are set up to be a NPC faction so if you make them playable then their faction alignment setting that make them hate and be hated by everyone blend with the "player" faction settings. So essentially when you make them playable it uses the Nexerelin player settings.
TLDR: If you enable the option to make them playable you will be on good standing with the Hivers however the faction itself will remain enemies with all other factions. As the player you will have some factions that are neutral to favorable as well as several enemies.
Ok that's what I thought. I'm not gonna play with them I just wanted to make sure that they're supposed to be the "scary" end game enemy faction type of deal.
(Sooo as in normal mode they're sort of like the AI ships you can't take them for yourself even if you beat them in combat right?)I have the mod set to have their ships be recoverable however in that optional file I referenced earlier there is an option of make them unrecoverable.
Yes, they start off the same as the player but they are set to maximum aggression so within a cycle or two you will see them sending out invasion fleets. Whether they are early, mid or end game threats depends on how many faction mods you have installed. The more enemies they have the slower their progression so a vanilla sector with just Hiver installed they will roll over the vanilla factions real soon.Maybe a silly question, but I don't suppose you can play as the swarm?Sort of. I do have directions to make them playable in the README file that is included in the Zip as well as under the spoiler tag labeled: The mod comes with several optional files that can be enabled before the start of a new game on this forum page's OP. I state the sort of because they are set up to be a NPC faction so if you make them playable then their faction alignment setting that make them hate and be hated by everyone blend with the "player" faction settings. So essentially when you make them playable it uses the Nexerelin player settings.
TLDR: If you enable the option to make them playable you will be on good standing with the Hivers however the faction itself will remain enemies with all other factions. As the player you will have some factions that are neutral to favorable as well as several enemies.
Ok that's what I thought. I'm not gonna play with them I just wanted to make sure that they're supposed to be the "scary" end game enemy faction type of deal.(Sooo as in normal mode they're sort of like the AI ships you can't take them for yourself even if you beat them in combat right?)I have the mod set to have their ships be recoverable however in that optional file I referenced earlier there is an option of make them unrecoverable.
To anyone also playing Nexerelin with this Faction enabled, have you guys ever seen another faction successfully defend an invasion from these guys? I was confused as to why factions couldn't defend themselves until my colony got raided, they showed up with a good number of fleets and the vessels themselves are pretty strong on an individual basis, I cant see the AI really putting up much a fight to be honest. Right now in my playthrough, literally every faction hates them and tries to raid their core systems all the time. I started putting alot more HE weapons on my ships which helps, but unless Im mistaken, other factions don't adapt like that and just lose all the time. I track which systems they invade and go to those systems and farm them, their weapons sell for a good amount so I'm not really complaining, but I feel like if left unchecked they would eventually just take out every other faction.
To anyone also playing Nexerelin with this Faction enabled, have you guys ever seen another faction successfully defend an invasion from these guys? I was confused as to why factions couldn't defend themselves until my colony got raided, they showed up with a good number of fleets and the vessels themselves are pretty strong on an individual basis, I cant see the AI really putting up much a fight to be honest. Right now in my playthrough, literally every faction hates them and tries to raid their core systems all the time. I started putting alot more HE weapons on my ships which helps, but unless Im mistaken, other factions don't adapt like that and just lose all the time. I track which systems they invade and go to those systems and farm them, their weapons sell for a good amount so I'm not really complaining, but I feel like if left unchecked they would eventually just take out every other faction.They are meant to be a threat that the player has to take a role in dealing with. Basically the more faction mods you have installed the slower their growth. I would personally recommend at the minimum of 4 faction mods to keep them occupied while you build up since, as you noticed, the vanilla factions are not equipped to deal with them. Bottom line is you can not ignore them as they are set to be more aggressive than norm and will take over w/out direct player intervention.
I do have a few modded factions, including the UAF. Very rarely does UAF interact with other factions for some reason though, they just stay in their core worlds on the lower left of the map most of the time. I have definitely seen Hiver and Iron Shell invade each other, and the Hivers have definitely successfully invaded Iron Shell colonies. They completely wiped out Approlight's core system Augustin? I think its called in my playthrough, which is kind of hilarious, because that faction is super overpowered.Hello there thanks for checking in. I do not use UAF myself so I have no direct experience, it is just what I have read.
I'm not complaining, I do enjoy an actual looming threat like the Hivers, because otherwise the game is not too threatening if you follow some orthodox playstyles. I just enjoy factions interacting with each other and such, but these guys just come in and clean house most of the time, unless I intervene with my specific anti-Hiver loadouts.Hivers WILL dominate the system if the player does not intervene. This mod is not a oh I'll install it and eventually get around to it :) I made it because I felt the journey to the endgame was not much of an experience and I wanted a bigger threat to have to handle before eating the Doritos. They are designed to grow and can be handled by the player mid-game and then the player can move on to the end game. But if you ignore them then the snowball just gets bigger and harder to handle.
I wonder if taking out one or two of their colonies will slow them down.I do have instructions on the front page of this forum on options you can do to make them easier, details are under the "The mod comes with several optional files that can be enabled before the start of a new game" spoiler tag. Also, I have seen tactics shared on reddit where players have snuck in their systems, raided their planets and stole the cores and/or forges and that really nerfs them. I am working on a CFT update atm but I'll add Hiver to next in line as see if I can add a weaker option for players that want to have clamed down Hivers.
I do have a few modded factions, including the UAF. Very rarely does UAF interact with other factions for some reason though, they just stay in their core worlds on the lower left of the map most of the time. I have definitely seen Hiver and Iron Shell invade each other, and the Hivers have definitely successfully invaded Iron Shell colonies. They completely wiped out Approlight's core system Augustin? I think its called in my playthrough, which is kind of hilarious, because that faction is super overpowered.
I'm not complaining, I do enjoy an actual looming threat like the Hivers, because otherwise the game is not too threatening if you follow some orthodox playstyles. I just enjoy factions interacting with each other and such, but these guys just come in and clean house most of the time, unless I intervene with my specific anti-Hiver loadouts. I wonder if taking out one or two of their colonies will slow them down.
I made account just to say this.I am flattered, thank you for making the effort.
Hivers got destroyed early on my save, I had very little interaction with core worlds early game (I started off core in my own faction). I was very confused and sad to suddenly find out they were gone because I read everywhere they are gonna overtake core worlds.I have to say I am a bit stumped because this is a first for me. With little information I can deduce you are playing a game with a faction you made that is located out of the core worlds as it's stating point. My guess is that you play a heavily modded game based on your mention of Imperium and TTSC. I am curious, would you be willing to share your enabled_mods.json list? If you are unsure of it's location, it can be found in starsector\mods. For reference here is mine:
Now I am protecting Imperium against massive TTSC empire in my core system.Well I make TTSC as well and to hear they have a massive empire is another puzzle for me. They start with 3 stations and no planets and essentially act as a police force for Tri-Tac space. They will hunt down enemies of Tri-Tac and do have the ability to invade but "massive empire" elicits the idea that they own most of the sector. Roughly what percent of your sector is inhabited by TTSC?
Would be cool to see somekind of Hiver sleeper colonies so when they get destroyed they can re-attempt to cause mess in core systems.Well there is an option for defeated factions to re-spawn when you start the game, check to see if that is turned on. But even then it would not be the same experience because I custom crafted their systems to maximize their economic output while also not being able to trade with anyone. That is why I do not recommend using this mod in RCW mode because it ignores all faction settings when it generates a sector.
I have to say I am a bit stumped because this is a first for me. With little information I can deduce you are playing a game with a faction you made that is located out of the core worlds as it's stating point. My guess is that you play a heavily modded game based on your mention of Imperium and TTSC. I am curious, would you be willing to share your enabled_mods.json list? If you are unsure of it's location, it can be found in starsector\mods. For reference here is mine:Looking at your list, my modlist is pretty small, lmao.
Well I make TTSC as well and to hear they have a massive empire is another puzzle for me. They start with 3 stations and no planets and essentially act as a police force for Tri-Tac space. They will hunt down enemies of Tri-Tac and do have the ability to invade but "massive empire" elicits the idea that they own most of the sector. Roughly what percent of your sector is inhabited by TTSC?Its 5 factions remaining, TTSC owns roughly 90% of core worlds.
The only variant between yours and mine that I see is AotD and that should have no effect on invasions. And with Legio disabled I am truly stumped how that happened with the mod list you shared.QuoteI have to say I am a bit stumped because this is a first for me. With little information I can deduce you are playing a game with a faction you made that is located out of the core worlds as it's stating point. My guess is that you play a heavily modded game based on your mention of Imperium and TTSC. I am curious, would you be willing to share your enabled_mods.json list? If you are unsure of it's location, it can be found in starsector\mods. For reference here is mine:Looking at your list, my modlist is pretty small, lmao.
I have Legio disabled in config.Spoiler{
"enabledMods": [
"tahlan",
"aod_vos",
"DetailedCombatResults",
"swp",
"hte",
"Imperium",
"TTSC",
"lunalib",
"HMI",
"QualityCaptains",
"whichmod",
"MagicLib",
"HIVER",
"Terraforming & Station Construction",
"lw_lazylib",
"sun_starship_legends",
"Cryo_but_better",
"aotd_vok",
"MoreMilitaryMissions",
"nexerelin",
"shaderLib"
]
}[close]
TTSC ships are a little stronger than Tri-Tac standard ships as they are the military arm of Tri-Tac but not THAT strong. Based on your mod list it looks like you have TTSC, tahlan, Imperium and HMI as your enabled faction mods and I use all of those myself. I recommend using at least four faction mods to tone down the Hivers and that fits the criteria so that should not be the issue.QuoteWell I make TTSC as well and to hear they have a massive empire is another puzzle for me. They start with 3 stations and no planets and essentially act as a police force for Tri-Tac space. They will hunt down enemies of Tri-Tac and do have the ability to invade but "massive empire" elicits the idea that they own most of the sector. Roughly what percent of your sector is inhabited by TTSC?Its 5 factions remaining, TTSC owns roughly 90% of core worlds.
Imperium is turtled in their system which does get invaded in waves, I am managing to stop invasions, if I fail I take back the worlds and give them back to Imperium so TTSC doesnt start aiming for me. TTSC fleets are pretty weak (or I am simply stronger) so I am not sure what is going on.
I am honestly stumped and really concerned because two of my mods are the issue here. I am not even sure where else to look to figure this out so at this stage the best I can do is offer a sincere apology for my mods ruining your game experience. I know this is going to weigh on me and be rattling around in my brain for a bit so if I think of anything else that may have caused this, I'll post it here.No need for apology, I just wanted to know if this is common occurance or not. I am still having fun juggling between defending Imperium and making my own faction grow.
That is kind of you and I am glad to hear you are getting some enjoyment out of the situation.QuoteI am honestly stumped and really concerned because two of my mods are the issue here. I am not even sure where else to look to figure this out so at this stage the best I can do is offer a sincere apology for my mods ruining your game experience. I know this is going to weigh on me and be rattling around in my brain for a bit so if I think of anything else that may have caused this, I'll post it here.No need for apology, I just wanted to know if this is common occurance or not. I am still having fun juggling between defending Imperium and making my own faction grow.
If you want I can send you my save if that can help with anything.Well as our mod list greatly differs that would be hard to do.
The only thing that comes to mind is that you have referenced playing as your own faction and I am little confused because I do not see a custom mod listed on your enabled mods. Which faction are you refereing to as your own?"Own faction" start option, where you start with your own world.
Ah OK that clears it up but that should not have any effect on Hivers or TTSC. My last outlier possibility question is are you using random core worlds mode?QuoteThe only thing that comes to mind is that you have referenced playing as your own faction and I am little confused because I do not see a custom mod listed on your enabled mods. Which faction are you refereing to as your own?"Own faction" start option, where you start with your own world.
Ah OK that clears it up but that should not have any effect on Hivers or TTSC. My last outlier possibility question is are you using random core worlds mode?I am using random core worlds mode.
Eureka! That is the issue, phew I was going nuts trying to figure this out. I should have asked that first thing, my bad. This explains both issues because when you start the game in RCW Nexerelin randomly assigns the factions in the sector. What that means is w/e custom systems that a mod adds is ignored and each faction is given even standing in the game. Now normally that is a viable gameplay but as I stated earlier, HIVER has three custom systems that are tailored specifically to make them a threat. In RCW mode they are given one planet with limited resources and even though NEX ignores the custom systems it does use the faction file that sets their relationship status with the other factions. Since they are hard coded to hate and be hated by everyone they have no trading partners and their economy is gutted. With no economic force to fuel their aggression the best they can form is maybe two small fleets with destroyers and that is pitiful compared to them in a standard game. So yes in that scenario they will be the first target of every faction to eliminate.QuoteAh OK that clears it up but that should not have any effect on Hivers or TTSC. My last outlier possibility question is are you using random core worlds mode?I am using random core worlds mode.
This is why I have it bolded on the forum OP "Note: see the optional files if you want to have them appear in Nexerelin's Random Core Worlds option(disabled by default)"Then I should apologize, I didnt see it. I dont play Starsector for long periods, I visit forums now and then only when I am playing.
And the optional file states the following:
As for TTSC, as I said earlier, they are hard coded to be allied with Tri-Tac and have better than average ships. In RCW the same thing is applied that their custom stations are ignored and they are given a planet as a homebase. Essentially that gives them and Tri-Tac a huge advantage in RCW because they will always have each other as trading partners.I also assumed this was the reason why TTSC gained so much power.
No need, I am just happy we figured it out :)QuoteThis is why I have it bolded on the forum OP "Note: see the optional files if you want to have them appear in Nexerelin's Random Core Worlds option(disabled by default)"Then I should apologize, I didnt see it. I dont play Starsector for long periods, I visit forums now and then only when I am playing.
And the optional file states the following:
Yep they become a powerhouse compared to other factions in RCW. Maybe I should add that as a caution on the TTSC site when I update that mod next.QuoteAs for TTSC, as I said earlier, they are hard coded to be allied with Tri-Tac and have better than average ships. In RCW the same thing is applied that their custom stations are ignored and they are given a planet as a homebase. Essentially that gives them and Tri-Tac a huge advantage in RCW because they will always have each other as trading partners.I also assumed this was the reason why TTSC gained so much power.
For what its worth I like the weapons in this mod. They give me good edge over TTSC.I find that interesting. Though Hiver weapons are more powerful as a general rule, they are almost all pulse energy weapons with a shorter range than TTSC's beams. With the TTSC ship specific hull mod their ships should outrange ships equipped with Hiver weapons and be able to kite them. Either way, I am glad that you are enjoying both mods. TTSC should be next in line for my update queue so I'll keep your comments in mind when I do so.
Hivers WILL dominate the system if the player does not intervene. This mod is not a oh I'll install it and eventually get around to it :) I made it because I felt the journey to the endgame was not much of an experience and I wanted a bigger threat to have to handle before eating the Doritos. They are designed to grow and can be handled by the player mid-game and then the player can move on to the end game. But if you ignore them then the snowball just gets bigger and harder to handle.
Yeah thats one reason I dont like random core worlds. The faction strength the mod author intends gets throw up into RNG. The hivers are so strong initially because they have 3 systems? At the start with some good planets in there. I also think that the more factions active in your nex playthrough, the more likely the Hivers will get slowed down. This is because every faction ends up hating the Hivers and thus taking military actions against them. So if you have like 10 modded factions, and they all hate the Hivers, obviously the Hivers wont be as scary as a playthrough with fewer modded factions. At least thats what I think happens im my experience.After years of playing Starsector both with and w/out mods I wanted a new challenge to spice the game up a bit. I designed this mod because as time went on, I tried every mod available some I kept and some I disabled and I currently play a very heavily modded game that has multiple factions enabled. So the release product of Hiver Swarm was with that in mind and I did a poor job explaining that it is intended to be a goal mod in itself and not something you just leave run in the background and eventually get to.
I appreciate your outlook and that is what I initially intended but I have been receiving several comments here and on discord that players who prefer a less modded game are struggling with the default setup. What really brought it home to me was watching Butter Baronet's latest video, Pushing back the swarm #11, where he essentially states he will no longer be continuing the series as he just cannot get ahead no matter what he does in his lightly modded game. That really brought it home to me since I really enjoyed his Spaceboi vs Hiver video series and I felt I did a disservice to the community that wants a challenge but one that does not require such a heavily modded game.Hivers WILL dominate the system if the player does not intervene. This mod is not a oh I'll install it and eventually get around to it :) I made it because I felt the journey to the endgame was not much of an experience and I wanted a bigger threat to have to handle before eating the Doritos. They are designed to grow and can be handled by the player mid-game and then the player can move on to the end game. But if you ignore them then the snowball just gets bigger and harder to handle.
Yeah I think thats fine and needed as a mod. No other mod quite does what the Hiver mod does this well and this thematically. Now when I enable the Hivers, I'm aware that it's going to be a "Hiver" playthrough, which is good. They will get out of control if you don't intervene, and they get slowed down quite a bit or even defeated if the player puts enough effort in. It's a good balance.
Hi ProdigyToby, good to hear back from you. I appreciate your follow up and I have some thoughts rolling around in me mind regarding the mod so though I will be responding to your comments, I will most likely also be inserting some TLDR. :)Yeah thats one reason I dont like random core worlds. The faction strength the mod author intends gets throw up into RNG. The hivers are so strong initially because they have 3 systems? At the start with some good planets in there. I also think that the more factions active in your nex playthrough, the more likely the Hivers will get slowed down. This is because every faction ends up hating the Hivers and thus taking military actions against them. So if you have like 10 modded factions, and they all hate the Hivers, obviously the Hivers wont be as scary as a playthrough with fewer modded factions. At least thats what I think happens im my experience.After years of playing Starsector both with and w/out mods I wanted a new challenge to spice the game up a bit. I designed this mod because as time went on, I tried every mod available some I kept and some I disabled and I currently play a very heavily modded game that has multiple factions enabled. So the release product of Hiver Swarm was with that in mind and I did a poor job explaining that it is intended to be a goal mod in itself and not something you just leave run in the background and eventually get to.I appreciate your outlook and that is what I initially intended but I have been receiving several comments here and on discord that players who prefer a less modded game are struggling with the default setup. What really brought it home to me was watching Butter Baronet's latest video, Pushing back the swarm #11, where he essentially states he will no longer be continuing the series as he just cannot get ahead no matter what he does in his lightly modded game. That really brought it home to me since I really enjoyed his Spaceboi vs Hiver video series and I felt I did a disservice to the community that wants a challenge but one that does not require such a heavily modded game.Hivers WILL dominate the system if the player does not intervene. This mod is not a oh I'll install it and eventually get around to it :) I made it because I felt the journey to the endgame was not much of an experience and I wanted a bigger threat to have to handle before eating the Doritos. They are designed to grow and can be handled by the player mid-game and then the player can move on to the end game. But if you ignore them then the snowball just gets bigger and harder to handle.
Yeah I think thats fine and needed as a mod. No other mod quite does what the Hiver mod does this well and this thematically. Now when I enable the Hivers, I'm aware that it's going to be a "Hiver" playthrough, which is good. They will get out of control if you don't intervene, and they get slowed down quite a bit or even defeated if the player puts enough effort in. It's a good balance.
So, In the next update I will be adding an optional difficulty file to the Zip that will enable a more vanilla+ experience w/out, hopefully, needing multiple mods to make it enjoyable. This is a just a goal at this point and will need some extensive testing on my part and most likely I will get it wrong. My first draft thought is they will still have the three systems, same "I hate you" outlook, the same weapons, wings and ships but they will be far less aggressive with fewer invasion fleets. Or I could do a nerf to their stats to make them much weaker. Maybe a little from column A and a little from column B, idk at this stage.
Sorry to sort of hijack my response with the random thoughts bouncing about my head. Honestly, I am not sure what the answer is here w/out fundamentally changing the core of what this mod is so any ideas from the player base on this would be appreciated.
I actually know exactly the playthrough you're talking about, but with all respect to Butter Baronet, I don't think the main issue is with the mod specifically. If you pay close attention to the fleets he created, you can see at no point did he ever have a truly capable capital ship, even a vanilla one like the Paragon. He was also fighting Hiver fleets which were way over the capabilities of the fleets he was using. I think when you engage the Hivers, you need to treat them like the endgame threat they are. You need capital ships or even ships that you have heavily invested alot into to contest the Hivers.Yea I noticed a couple players giving him some good advice throughout the series and he seemed to change things up and got better at fighting them but I agree that the gameplay overall was a bit hasty. I think that the looming threat was part of what sped up his gameplay but I am not sure.
They are beatable with vanilla factions, I have done it myself. I had to farm money and do a little extra things to build the ships I needed, but it is possible. I think the issue was he kept atempting to engage them after losing his entire fleet, then quickly assembling another fleet which wasn't very capable and doing it again. You really need to assemble a good fleet like I said, but he repeated this about 3 times or so I believe, which at no point was he going to win with those compositions. I just think he misunderstood what he needed to have to actually contest them. He also never realized how valuable their drops are. I believe he defeated one or two small Hiver fleets, but they didnt drop much. Once you have one fleet which can contest Hiver fleets and win, you yourself can snowball by selling thier drops to factions for large amounts of credits.I do have the option of not have their ships recoverable or weapons drop for those that do not want alien tech so I assumed he was keeping a RP style like that. However, the reason I have the default setting drop their gear and salvage their ships is that I feel the player needs that to recoup their losses and rebuild. I do see several comments on discord from players talking about/bragging? how many credits they make farming them and that is a valid way to make credits but the original intent was as a means to recoup losses after learning how to fight them but loosing your fleet.
That being said, its not my decision to decide what gets put in the mod or not, and if you want to put a "casual" option thats completely up to you, but understand that some of us do, in fact, know how to deal with the Hivers. My only issue was trying to get OTHER factions to deal with them.Oh no worries the default option will not change. I just have a firm belief that my goal as a mod maker is to offer options. In this mod alone I have several optional instructions and files up to an entire set of replacement ships and weapons, that is how committed I am to the concept :)
I might just be jaded though, because a couple of years ago, we had an even more powerful enemy type mod called "The Knights Templar" where I actually learned how to meta game enough to deal with that faction mod. They didnt proliferate as well as the Hivers, but they were SO overpowered in their ships and weapons. So I understand my point of view might not be the best one to make decisions like that with, haha.I have been playing this game from when it was called Starfarer. In the Metelson Industries reboot that Knight Chase is caretaking I mention that I was so happy to see it back because I used to play as them like 10 years ago. I miss so many depreciated mods that have been left to time. Knights Templar is certainly one of them but there were some great ones like Tiandong Heavy Industries, COPS, Tore Up Plenty, Galaxy Tigers and Junk Pirates to name a few that I would like to see make a comeback as well. Heck come to think of it I think my first forum post was asking MesoTroniK to add a tanker to Tiandong because I wanted to play as only them lol.
I think that the Hivers expand so quickly compared to other factions that even weakening them wouldn't do it. I think to balance them for a more vanilla friendly experience (cause not everybody has the same skill at the game), you need to make them less aggressive, less prone to quick expansion. You probably don't even need to touch their ships. If there would be a setting to make them expand at a rate that the player would be comfortable with, I think that would work better. Cause then the challenge of beating them would still be there, but you could take your time in doing so without being hurried by their every present looming threat.I am leaning toward the "column A" option I mentioned earlier and it seems you are of the same opinion. I have been doing some "research" on discord reading up on what players are saying there. By separating the wheat from the chaff I did see some interesting ideas like having them hibernate and only appear after several cycles. Thing is, I am pretty much a noob when it comes to Java so I am going to try and implement some of the ideas I saw like that one but I suspect I will be just doing close to what you state in the end.
Just my 2 cents.OoOoo a tip, thank you! :)
I have beat them with an odd combination of modded factions before: Carriers from the UAF, bulky cruisers from the Roider's Union, Some fast annoying ships from vanilla and DA and even a couple Mobile Armor suits from AA. I'm not very good at the game, and I'm not looking for a challenge either. I just enjoy building cool looking ships and seeing what works and what doesn't.Personally I do not use the cookie cutter builds I see online. I also enjoy experimenting and seeing what I can build. A core philosophy behind my playable faction mods is giving options to players that are not available in the vanilla game. When I play, it is always as an independent and generally as a scavenger that only uses what I salvage or a miner that only earns credits from mining/refining. I rarely play as a faction commissioned captain, even with the factions I created. Though, TBH, I do follow their fleets sometimes in hopes there may be some floating ships from their factions I can snag after a battle ;)
I think that the Hivers expand so quickly compared to other factions that even weakening them wouldn't do it. I think to balance them for a more vanilla friendly experience (cause not everybody has the same skill at the game), you need to make them less aggressive, less prone to quick expansion. You probably don't even need to touch their ships. If there would be a setting to make them expand at a rate that the player would be comfortable with, I think that would work better. Cause then the challenge of beating them would still be there, but you could take your time in doing so without being hurried by their every present looming threat.I am leaning toward the "column A" option I mentioned earlier and it seems you are of the same opinion. I have been doing some "research" on discord reading up on what players are saying there. By separating the wheat from the chaff I did see some interesting ideas like having them hibernate and only appear after several cycles. Thing is, I am pretty much a noob when it comes to Java so I am going to try and implement some of the ideas I saw like that one but I suspect I will be just doing close to what you state in the end.Just my 2 cents.OoOoo a tip, thank you! :)I have beat them with an odd combination of modded factions before: Carriers from the UAF, bulky cruisers from the Roider's Union, Some fast annoying ships from vanilla and DA and even a couple Mobile Armor suits from AA. I'm not very good at the game, and I'm not looking for a challenge either. I just enjoy building cool looking ships and seeing what works and what doesn't.Personally I do not use the cookie cutter builds I see online. I also enjoy experimenting and seeing what I can build. A core philosophy behind my playable faction mods is giving options to players that are not available in the vanilla game. When I play, it is always as an independent and generally as a scavenger that only uses what I salvage or a miner that only earns credits from mining/refining. I rarely play as a faction commissioned captain, even with the factions I created. Though, TBH, I do follow their fleets sometimes in hopes there may be some floating ships from their factions I can snag after a battle ;)
I salute your experimentation and thank you for weighing in on the correspondence.
Hey, no problem! If it helps you in any way, then that's great :)Indeed it does.
Just respectfully spamming one more hello to my fav modder Dazs. I'll do so next month too propably :3Lol thank you, free publicity is always a fun treat! :)
Hey Dazs, I saw your request to Histidine on the Nexerelin thread and wanted to ask if it would be just as easy to make the delay in Hiver activity variable from 1 to X number of years so that players who like to take their time exploring and doing the Galatia missions don't feel rushed to need to be in a position to save the sector so quickly? No worries if not, I just wanted to see about the possibility.Hello there Shogouki, always a pleasure to hear from you. I tried several iterations of code to get it to work until I reached out to Histidine. I am self taught and when there are holes in what I can do, I try and figure it out myself so I can learn along the way. I had a hard time finding examples of how Nexerelin handles invasions, though I did figure out how to adjust their fleet strength, I just could not find a function that adjusted the time they start invading so I figured my next best option is to reach out to the person that maintains the code for Nexerelin.
Perfectly understandable, I just thought I'd ask just in case Histidine does know how to make it a user defined duration so you could bring that up to him. I'm not even a newbie coder so I completely understand if it's more trouble than it's worth but thought I'd ask just in case it turns out to be a simple addition to your mod. I know Kaysaar has a user defined delay in AotD for NPC factions sending out science expeditions so I thought it might definitely be worth it to ask if the same thing were possible with a faction becoming "active" or hostile. Again, no worries if it's more trouble than it's worth!Hey there Shogouki, sorry for the delay in responding, things have been a bit rough IRL. No worries at all, I think it is a good idea and plan to implement it if I can. I am still awaiting a response from Histidine that will hopefully shed some light. In the mean time I will try again to go over the code in Nex and see if I can figure something out. So stay tuned, my free time is limited atm but I do plan to still work on my mods as I can.
Oh no worries! Real life should always take precedence and on top of that you don't owe anyone a quick reply, just the fact that you put any time at all into making these wonderful mods available is a gift.Aww your so sweet :)
Oh no worries! While it would be cool it's certainly not a necessary change so please don't let it distract you from other things you'd like to do.It's cool, Hiver is next in line for an update so any suggestions are welcome.
Though I was wondering if it's possible to make the Hivers just inactive, like completely and not just invasions, until a certain trigger. It was only recently that I learned that Legio won't start spawning their daemon fleets until certain conditions are met and wondered if there were possibly other ways to restrict the Hivers that would effectively prevent them from invading even if there's no specific way to deactivate just invasions.That is the first I am hearing of that so it'll take a bit of a deep dive to see if I can do it. That is an interesting idea and I'll look into it this week and see what I can do.
Oh no worries! While it would be cool it's certainly not a necessary change so please don't let it distract you from other things you'd like to do.
I wish I felt like I had the mental energy to learn Java to explore modding Starsector.It is quite the journey starting from zero. There are several guides on the forum and the discord if you are truly interested. I've been doing this for three years and am still picking up things so yea it is a lot of mental energy but it is not like you have a deadline to meet. What I did to keep me focused was I started with an idea for a faction mod and asked myself:
Oh very awesome, thank you!What a nice comment to wake up to! ;D