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Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); New blog post: Simulator Enhancements (03/13/24)

Author Topic: [0.95.1a-RC6] Whisper's Techmining Alterations  (Read 3459 times)

WhisperDSP

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[0.95.1a-RC6] Whisper's Techmining Alterations
« on: March 05, 2023, 01:08:29 AM »

From what I can see Alex has not made changes to TechMining in the new (0.96.x) release. This should still be relevant for both 0.95.x and 0.96.x versions.

Whisper's Techmining Alterations
(version 2.0)


Now up on NexusMods

Characteristics:

* Techmining is a structure, not infrastructure (since it doesn't benefit the faction/planet directly)
* A ruins degradation (excavating?) percentage
* Add seamlessly to existing techmining in an existing game (make a save first - if you want to uninstall you will need to revert to this save)
* Initial chance to immediately receive a special item
* Progress bar towards a guaranteed item (unless the ruins degrade too far)
* High first-finds value
* Decent ongoing finds value
* All finds based upon the Ruins size (1-4, Scattered-Vast) and Colony size (3-6)
** A Ruins 1 * Colony 3 gives 3x the average basic ruins value
** A Ruins 4 * Colony 6 gives 24x the average basic ruins value
** Add +25% for an Alpha AI Core, +15% for a Beta AI Core, +5% for a Gamma AI Core
** Add +25% for spending Story Points
* Unusual planets (gas giants, inimical, irradiated, jungle, toxic) and worthwhile ore conditions (any organic, any volatile, decent ore/rare ore) give extra drops
* Decivilized/Saturation-Bombed base-game planets do not give Special Items, just a bunch more of domestic stuff
* AI-controlled planets do not give the AI anything

Example image showing the % decay/excavation and progress towards the next Special Item:


Example images for first find with Ruins 4 (Vast) * Colony 3 (with a setting so that it doesn't give the player metals):



"Wait, what? It doesn't give the player metals?"

Correct, that is one of the configurable options.

Configurable Options:

The settings.json file is highly configurable to the player's taste. I have set what I consider to be a reasonable set of returns, tweak to your heart's content.

(Note: Breaking your game by doing any of this is on your head.)

The "mods/WhisperTechminingAlteration/data/config/settings.json" file (all of these may be changed "on the fly"):
Code
{
  ##############################################################
  # Settings for Whisper's Techmining Alteration
  # Tweak at your own risk
  ##############################################################

  # the monthly rate at which ruins decay by size of ruins
  "wta_ruins_decayrate_scattered": 0.97,
  "wta_ruins_decayrate_widespread": 0.98,
  "wta_ruins_decayrate_expansive": 0.99,
  "wta_ruins_decayrate_vast": 0.995,
 
  # the cutoff point (%) below which no more special items are found
  "wta_ruins_speciallimit_scattered": 0.9,
  "wta_ruins_speciallimit_widespread": 0.85,
  "wta_ruins_speciallimit_expansive": 0.8,
  "wta_ruins_speciallimit_vast": 0.75,
 
  # whether to drop metals at all (default true)
  "wta_drop_metals": true,
 
  # the base credit value of ordinary drops (multiplied by ruins size and colony size)
  "wta_ruinsvalue_basic" : 4000,
  "wta_ruinsvalue_goods" : 3000,
  "wta_ruinsvalue_other" : 2000,
 
  # the first-find multiplier
  "wta_firstfind_bonus" : 10,
 
  # whether spending special points has the ruins *not* decay (default false, if set to true will always stay at 99.99% decay rate)
  "wta_specialpoints_nodecay": false,
 
  # whether the player wants to ruins to *not* decay (default false, if set to true will always stay at 99.99% decay rate)
  "wta_ruins_nodecay": false,
 
  # whether to write to logfile (default false)
  "wta_logging": false,
 
  # the Tech-mining finds bonuses for Alpha, Beta and Gamma cores
  "wta_alphacore_finds_bonus": 0.25f,
  "wta_betacore_finds_bonus": 0.15f,
  "wta_gammacore_finds_bonus": 0.05f,
}

FAQ / Special Notes:

Q: Just a weeee bit over the top for a big ruins and large colony?
A: I fully-expect players to hold off on a Vast Ruins planet, grow a Size 6 Colony, then go all-in with a Techmining structure + Alpha AI Core + Story Points. They deserve the massive returns that they're going to get. Enjoy.

Q: Yeah but that's way too much!
A: Tone your copy down in the settings.json then. Is why I exposed all those settings.

Q: Okay, but why a no metals option?
A: Because by the time of colonizing, in my view the player cannot be bothered carting 10k metals to market to get (if they're lucky) 30 credits per. A whopping great total of 300k credits at best...pfui. That kinda low-grade stuff goes onto the open market and helps pay the workers in the Techmining structure.

Q: So why drop metals by default?
A: Because that's the default of the existing Techmining. Player's can change it if they want.

Q: So how many special items can be retrieved...?
A: In theory: infinite. (If the ruins are set to not decay.)
In practice: 2-3 for Scattered Ruins, up to 10-12 for Vast Ruins. It's a little bit random and AI Core/Story Points will increase the progress towards finding the item(s).

Note: The base-game drops are increased and will also include Special Items, so sometimes 2 items will drop at the same time. One was progressively searched out, the other was randomly found.

Credits / Inspiration:

Better Colonies
Slightly Better Tech Mining
Alex's post on having a progress-bar towards finding Special Items
Thoughts by BigBrainEnergy and Megas (and probably others - it was a while back)
Mod help from Alex
Mod help from RuddyGreat
Mod help/permissions from Wyvern
« Last Edit: January 20, 2024, 06:45:24 PM by WhisperDSP »
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WhisperDSP

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Re: [0.95.1a-RC6] Whisper's Techmining Alterations
« Reply #1 on: March 05, 2023, 01:08:47 AM »

Placeholder in case I need it.

sanya02

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Re: [0.95.1a-RC6] Whisper's Techmining Alterations
« Reply #2 on: March 05, 2023, 04:30:37 AM »

Why didn't you like the finished mod?

"id": "yunrutechmining",
    "name": "Slightly Better Tech-Mining",
    "author": "Yunru",
    "version": "2022-09-30",
    "description": "Removes fuel and supplies as loot options from Tech-Mining. Also adds an exhuastion tracker to the tooltip.",
    "gameVersion": "0.95.1a-RC6",
   "jars":["jars/YunruIndustries.jar"]
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WhisperDSP

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Re: [0.95.1a-RC6] Whisper's Techmining Alterations
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2023, 08:21:56 AM »

Why didn't you like the finished mod?

"id": "yunrutechmining",
    "name": "Slightly Better Tech-Mining",
    "author": "Yunru",
    "version": "2022-09-30",
    "description": "Removes fuel and supplies as loot options from Tech-Mining. Also adds an exhuastion tracker to the tooltip.",
    "gameVersion": "0.95.1a-RC6",
   "jars":["jars/YunruIndustries.jar"]

I want the supplies etc.

Oni

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Re: [0.95.1a-RC6] Whisper's Techmining Alterations
« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2023, 10:51:39 AM »

Nice, now I don't have to manually change Techmining into a structure anymore.  8)

Make sure to keep an eye on it's interaction with mods that force it back to an industry (Better Colonies for example).... also might want to look into separating techmining from the usual scaling that Story Point investment causes on colonies (ie doubling every time) so it has a flat cost no matter what other investments you've made... or so it refunds some of your SP when it's inevitably depleted and destroyed. If you haven't already.
« Last Edit: March 05, 2023, 11:14:46 AM by Oni »
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WhisperDSP

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Re: [0.95.1a-RC6] Whisper's Techmining Alterations
« Reply #5 on: March 05, 2023, 11:25:29 AM »

Players running Better Colonies and SBTM don%u2019t need this mod at all.

It should work okay with Nexerelin - assuming that I got it coded correctly. (I don%u2019t run that mod so cannot check for myself. Hopefully the author/s haven%u2019t touched the TechMining.)

Changing the structure back to infrastructure (in another mod) would probably break this, since I%u2019m using custom code. If this loads after other mods it should (as I understand it, you pro modders  correct me if I%u2019m wrong) override them/take precedence.

Story point investment%u2026I%u2019m not sure how Alex has coded that. I hadn%u2019t thought of someone tearing it down. For this, Vast Ruins and Size 6 Colony would provide Special Items regularly for about 26 months. With an Alpha+SP the regular items / blueprints / weaponry drops would be good for up to 10 years ingame (decay drops to 26% + 50% bonus). There would still be the occasional Special Item drop in there too.

-edit-

Of course, players can always set the industry costs to 1 point per: https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=26018.0
« Last Edit: March 05, 2023, 01:30:00 PM by WhisperDSP »
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P4NTH3R27

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Re: [0.95.1a-RC6] Whisper's Techmining Alterations
« Reply #6 on: April 29, 2023, 02:52:11 AM »

Hey, just wanted to give a heads up that there's a crash bug in the mod.

In the wta_TechMining.java file, you set wta_ruins_speciallimit_extensive and the settings.json calls for wta_ruins_speciallimit_expansive, which was making my game crash.

As a side note, I have no idea why this didn't crash my game until now, because I'd relaunched the game a few times even after building a tech mining structure and actively exploring.
It happened twice before I fixed it, and I have no clue why it started being an issue now when it was fine earlier.
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WhisperDSP

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Re: [0.95.1a-RC6] Whisper's Techmining Alterations
« Reply #7 on: June 02, 2023, 06:17:28 PM »

Hey, just wanted to give a heads up that there's a crash bug in the mod.

In the wta_TechMining.java file, you set wta_ruins_speciallimit_extensive and the settings.json calls for wta_ruins_speciallimit_expansive, which was making my game crash.

As a side note, I have no idea why this didn't crash my game until now, because I'd relaunched the game a few times even after building a tech mining structure and actively exploring.
It happened twice before I fixed it, and I have no clue why it started being an issue now when it was fine earlier.

Thanks for that, and yes late to the party. Real-life is busy.

I've put my newer version up on Nexus for download: https://www.nexusmods.com/starsector/mods/93/

Since I've done some fairly extensive changes, it'll probably be a new-game fix - or continue using your fix above.

Spicerub

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Re: [0.95.1a-RC6] Whisper's Techmining Alterations
« Reply #8 on: June 03, 2023, 12:28:43 AM »

Reckon this will work added to an existing 0.96 save?
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WhisperDSP

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Re: [0.95.1a-RC6] Whisper's Techmining Alterations
« Reply #9 on: January 20, 2024, 06:40:54 PM »

Reckon this will work added to an existing 0.96 save?

I checked, it should work - from what I can see in the release notes Alex hasn't touched the TechMining in 0.96.x (yet).

WhisperDSP

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Re: [0.95.1a-RC6] Whisper's Techmining Alterations
« Reply #10 on: January 20, 2024, 06:48:41 PM »

Updated to version 2.0 of Whisper's Techmining Alterations.

There are several changes with this version, I suggest that you complete your game before upgrading.

If you *really want to upgrade* then I suggest the following process:

i/ Save a new copy of your game
ii/ Deconstruct all TechMining on all of your planets
iii/ Upgrade (keep a copy of the old version of WTA)
iv/ Play the new copy and reconstruct TechMining on your planets
v/ If there are issues, revert to an earlier save and the older version of WTA

Changes made:

i/ The value of the drops has been reduced in the "settings.json" file:

Code
  # the base credit value of ordinary drops (multiplied by ruins size and colony size)
  "wta_ruinsvalue_basic" : 4000, <<< was 5000
  "wta_ruinsvalue_goods" : 3000, <<< was 4000
  "wta_ruinsvalue_other" : 2000, <<< was 3000
ii/ Blueprints and modspecs can be found even if the character already knows them. I realized that just because a character knows a blueprint or modspec, doesn't mean that it cannot be found again when doing a deep-dive into the ruins - the concept of there being only one ever in the entire sector makes no sense. Now you can find duplicates - happy selling!

iii/ Sometimes you just don't have an Alpha AI core to throw onto your techmining structure. Never fear, Beta and Gamma AI cores will work also - though not as well as an Alpha AI core, of course:

* Alpha AI Core - 25% bonus
* Beta AI Core - 15% bonus
* Gamma AI Core - 5% bonus

iv/ The bonuses given by an Alpha/Beta/Gamma AI core can be configured in the "settings.json" file:

Code
  # the Tech-mining finds bonuses for Alpha, Beta and Gamma cores
  "wta_alphacore_finds_bonus": 0.25f,
  "wta_betacore_finds_bonus": 0.15f,
  "wta_gammacore_finds_bonus": 0.05f,
v/ The finds increase bonuses given by Beta/Gamma AI cores will be displayed correctly in the TechMining structure's tooltip.
« Last Edit: January 20, 2024, 06:50:41 PM by WhisperDSP »
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