Modding

[UesugiKenshin]

Modding is difficult with the Goggle Play version as any apk is digitally signed. Thus you can't load an apk directly. If you download BotE on Google Play, then unpack it to see the graphics and sounds within, and then extract the code to see the various files for the ships, races, names, buildings, troops...and where the default starting positions are with initial infrastructure and units, you can do all that. But if you make edits and then repack it, the file sizes will be different than when it was installed from Google Play.

At least with other similar apks, people use nibble editors to override this security function.

Or you have to jailbreak the tablet which is quite involved.

Or you can download an apk to a windows computer, then use the usb port into your tablet, and load the apk.

These methods are supposed to work but they are not things I have tried.

Maybe the workaround is if folks design mods as scenarios or campaigns, then they can be an add on or included in a future version?

For now, the genuine but cumbersome way is if multiplayer is enabled and can be later disabled, then a designer using the default stats but playing through 200, 300, or 400 turns as all six empires, so 1200, 1800, or 2400 turns, and saving the game, would then allow quasi-campaigns as save games.

Example: instead of starting in turn #1, a player loads a save game as the Federation in turn #200 where much of the infrastructure has already been developed and with a robust economy as have all the other AI races.

Ideally a fixed map could be generated so empires would start in the relatively correct starting positions.

Being able to toggle a command to reveal the map is just about essential to preplace the sectors under the correct locations and correct empires' control if not actually under either membership or subjugation.

Usually when modding, you can set the demeanor of one empire to another so that when the AI has been turned back on, then they act according to Star Trek canon. Some games like GalCiv2 even allowed you to set the intelligence of the AI within that other race. Obviously the Ferengi comes to mind. They may have the tech,but not the intellect to do much more than make more gold pressed latinum...and hardly wage interstellar war using fleets. Whereas the Dominion, Romulans, or the Klingons would excell at these in various levels of intelligence.

For a true campaign of the Dominion Wars requires either campaign scripting to override the AI Cardassians from breaking the alliance, or a locked alliance to be configured, or both. To get the Romulans and Klingons and the Federation to work together is incredibly complex.

In many ways, lesser scenarios would be far easier to configure like Wolf359 with the Borg or a Federation versus Klingon Neutral Zone border class even tied to an actual Kobiyashi Maru event (though that never actually took place).

[UesugiKenshin]

If we had a save game editor, then many things might be done like set up the game on easy level to a rich degree using multiplayer, and then change the level difficulty ad make t a save game for a particular empire, and turn on random events, and anomalous entities as maybe the game begins at turn# 400 and empire can take the difficulty by then. There is no way to have those on from the start and make proper save game file as campaigns. But they would be fine after strong empires exist later. They might even be amusing.

Apparently at one time you could edit the class of planets too.

It'sobvious from the techtree that at the upper tech levels, even gas giants seem to be available for terraforming,thus useless sectors could end up being colonized. I do not believe any sector would be useless.

Ideally a map editor would become available as it's dry meticulous work, but I like doing it as if you can place barriers by putting in spatial anomalies, then you have have strategic pinchpoints. That adds a huge strategic difference amd it's logical that empires would exploit those terrain pinchpoints and install outposts to monitor and protect them to forestall invasions.

[UesugiKenshin]

If it's merely a question of using a hex editor on a save game file, and changing known attributes of values, then if the programmer releases those value ranges and attributes, then it doesn't have to be a fancy app. Modders have long used that methodology.

[UesugiKenshin]

If Google Play's security check on the apk file can be bypassed by a hex editor (which should be likely given others are overwritten), then it might be possible to create a mod with a rebalancing of the techtree and maybe do something about the espionage/sabotage missions.

Probably the sabotage is hard coded but the buildings are not. So the tech for intelligence agencies would be hugely expensive and only show up very scaled at high levels. Thus they are very neutralized until 2365.

Nothing else would change regarding graphics. It's fine the way it is. Now I have to see what the other Star Trek mods were like as there is no reason to reinvent the wheel. It's comes down to how many turns per year. In my opinion is should be 12 months so turn #340 is about 28 years and ends up about 2266. Then scale everything. It would be awesome. Terraforming is too advanced, but there are insufficient useable planets so it works out. There should be 9 planets in populated sectors as that is not a solar system but the significant planets across the Z axis so stacked in a sector

[UesugiKenshin]

Modding the security buildings

Screenshot_2020-04-09-01-37-49.png

Screenshot_2020-04-09-01-38-05.png

Screenshot_2020-04-09-01-38-15.png

Screenshot_2020-04-09-01-38-24.png

There are four levels (1, 2, 3, 4) of security buildings with various requirements.

The maximum in each is 14.
If:
Level 1 requires all 11s.
Level 2 requires all 12s.
Level 3 requires all 13s.
Level 4 requires all 14s.

Then sabotage missions will not occur until very late in the game. It will dramatically alter this so it would require very fast penetrating ships deep in enemy territory so would be far more plausible as somehow the spies, by what ever means, must get there from their empire's sectors. It can even be all 14s for all but one tech level and then 11 for that Level 1 security building. Then no accumulated intelligence points would acrue until maybe on turn 900 or higher.

Something like that. There are no editors for the Android version so it's editing the text files. Then repacking it to an apk and making sure it passes the security check.

This is why it's so unbalanced as the requirements even for level 4 security buildings is only computer11 and weapons11. It can be easily remedied.

The game as is...is entirely playable IF this small change is made as it should be one of the most difficult things to achieve just to engage in espionage and sabotage as 20 attacks in a single turn! That's outrageous. I had accumulated 2500+ intelligence points by turn#340, so just to protect my empire at 92% would require 10,000 intelligence points. This is when the focus should be on defending ships and troops not en masse churning out security buildings.

Why so many points? The otherbempire can attack the military, the diplomacy, the research, and the economy. So each to be fully protected would need an outragous 10,000. Intelligence points with 2500 in each area of focus.

The new change can be as follows.
It can be level 1 takes all 14s and the last is 11.
Level 2 is all 14s and the last is 12.
And so forth so it's the very last element to happen.

[UesugiKenshin]

The minor races at least in one instance have data brokerages as one example so those would have the same values as above as these are just another name for security buildings.

There is a Class 5 Security Building too.

The Romulans have their own Class 1-5 Intel Centers then a Coordinated Security building a a Talshiar one too. Then have even a Talshiar Command intel center too.It's implied that ultimately the Romulans have the best security buildings.

The Cardassians have Type 1-5 Shadow Teams, then a level called Surveillance Units.

The Domnion have 1-5 Intel Centers too then have an Omega Center as well. But the Dominion has other modifiers that make them likely to be superior and easier to defeat other empires.

TheYimandar are a minor race with an Intelligence Service. The Urenglian have a Secret Thought Archive.

You get the point. There are many unique intel centers instead of a base of 4 with an addition and two specials with minor variations. I doubt minor races can even use espionage and sabotage but likely just resist them. But when you get these through subjugation or membership, then those buildings would become available on those minor race sectors.

I think this is fixable...even without an editor. As long as I can deduce the correct attribute for the buildings, then it merely needs the proper level inserted.

[UesugiKenshin]

By turn 343#, the 20+ sabotage attacks go to 32. The way around this is discussed in the intelligence/counterintelligence topic. You save your game and the intel report comes in and shows the number of attacks and they are all the same type...luckily. This means reloading, allocating to that area like economic, then saving again, and it will be stymied for a few turns. Just save every time. It's irritating but this works...until the AI uses mixed attacks against say some research and some economic and some military and some diplomatic targets.

It's insane and absurd. There is no way to cope as the requirements are so very small even for the highest level security buildings yet the accrual of intelligence points is also small. It's broken but if I had a working editor, I could tweak all these values in 8 hours and error check in a single day. I bet that there are less than 20 buildings. It uses unique buildings when the same four could have been used plus a few specials.

[UesugiKenshin]

Based on the buildings editor manual (though unclear as it has to be done in notepad as there is no Android editor), then per this link:
http://birth-of-the-empires.de/wiki/ind ... dings.data
Line 44: Bio needed techlevel
Line 45: Energy needed techlevel
Line 46: Computer needed techlevel
Line 47: Propulsion needed techlevel
Line 48: Construction needed techlevel
Line 49: Weapon needed techlevel
Line 50: Industry need resources
Line 51: Energy need resources
Line 52: Titan need resources
Line 53: Deuterium need resources
Line 54: Duranium need resources
Line 55: Crystal need resources
Line 56: Iridium need resources
Line 57: Deritium need resources
Line 58: food production
Line 59: industry production
Line 60: energy production
So lines 44-49 are tech levels and can be raised much higher (likely lines 44-48 are all 14, and line 49 begins at 11 for level 1 and rises proportionally up to 14 for level 4, thus effectively disabling these security structures for the vast majority of the game.

Line 60 implies the intensity of energy required and can be raised very high and proportionally.

The special intelligence facility buildings would have that and rare resources ie lines 55 crystals and lines 56 for iridium, and be hugely expensive plus high energy requirements.

I think this is doable.

[UesugiKenshin]

You would scroll through the building data and find the security buildings and list the numbers so you would know which ones to edit. You have to do all the major ones as they have unique race specific buildings not generic ones. Then do the special minor race buildings too.

If you editted that, then saved the building data, then repacked the apk and made sure the file size was the same, then it would load on a tablet as it would be seen as a legitimate program.

No more sabotage missions until when all research is nearly done or done. And the planet would have to have energy buildings plus mines of crystals and iridium (or purchased amounts). Typically these advanced buildings require very high industrial values too.

Sabotage would be unlikely. First there would be espionage reports which would be fine.

[UesugiKenshin]

It seems possible if not probable that if we knew the save game format, we might be able to read it, and do preset up systems owned by various empires and configure the infrastructure. Alternatively change the initial treasury and so buy every building upgrade in the home sectors, and so vastly accelerate the initial conditions.

One cheat method involves scrapping ships, and elsewhere an exploit is scrapping outposts which yields lots of credits plus titanium. In the Android version, we cannot easily change the data text files,only save and export the save game files. But if I could add many initial outposts and scrap them in every empire's ownership, then I could generate a very large initial treasury and rush construction. Then the home sectors would be better prepared.

If I can boost the system's accumulated food or better just create more colony ships, then I could rapidly colonize and carve out logical empire boundaries. Then have 30-40 preset systems under each empire, and give the others space docks to get the range to link them up and starting base infrastructure. You set the exterior borderlands and then colonize inward to establish a sphere of influence. The sectors that are not populated, but surround your systems, then is claimed by your empire. Another empire has nearby similar sectors which challenges your sphere of influence. Those contested sectors are borderlands...like the challenging of contested borderlands that caused the Organians to force the Klingons and Federation to make the Neutral Zone as a buffer.
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Neutral_zone
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_of_influence

Similarly set the initial natural resources particularly titanium as that is the first hurdle allowing better infrastructure on various levels. To accelerate that, I create many resource routes as soon as possible so the new colonies are not constrained.

In the wiki in German, it discusses save game files and being able to play as another empire. For example, I have been creating Klingon save games, but it implies that when reloading these, somehow you could play as the Cardassians. If so, the methodology is unclear. I hope that is true as maybe I can successively change each empire and so develop a campaign.

[UesugiKenshin]

That kind of map design then reduces initial conflict as there are well established neutral zones and plenty of planets being colonized in the interior in a building phase. Then the economy is balanced by natural resource management. Then organized ship building and troops building has to generate a standing army. Such empires easily defend themselves. It's more compelling battles and you don't risk your fleet on pointless brute force attacks as too many ships and troops are wasted.

A player seems to make series of ill conceived logistical errors and so that creates gaps in the defense where a breach might occur. Then jockeying to exploit those gaps by monitoring them by patrols. Then patrols are first reconnaissance to alert the construction and redeployment to support defending and invasions of that gap.

In actuality the player is likely doing the identical thing as his other neighboring empire has created a gap in their defenses and he is redeploying and investigating with patrols. It's a chain reaction that cascades galactically.

[UesugiKenshin]

In a galactic strategy game, then diplomacy begins by better long range scanning coupled with advancement in xeno communcations ie like the film Contact where astronomers are listening and get a pattern and that is analyzed and seems to be nonrandom ie the SETI project. Thus it's language or a series of intelligible data. Thus first contact through the unlocking of techtrees and other empires are "hailed" (as Uhura did on TOS or Worf often did as the security officer).

Instead of a scout ship encountering a planet that is occupied by a minor or major race, and becoming hostile, the encounter is intentionally began well away from the sector and poses no threat.

[UesugiKenshin]

Campaigns and scenarios then allow the player very targeted games instead against known map sizes and effectively remove elements like intelligence agencies by alternative building files being read by the game engine.

Of course you can have total war conquests, but scientific research games, diplomacy games, Federation vs Klingon history from Enterprise through STTNG. Klingon vs Romulan Wars. The Dominion War. Combat effectiveness engagements where it's about who develops the best units with high experience and who protects them with scoring. The Federations absorbing members over a hundred years by diplomacy and little war.

Essentially it's minimodding by adjusting the timescale in the programming and the data files like troops, ships, buildings amd minor races.

Then the game is not just empire building but developed infrastructure and action from the start with consequences for failed missions.

Lots of people would like a sandbox game ie totally opened ended and winning is meaningless. It's a diversion that is largely positive and being the altruist of the galaxy. You could turn off every other empire and just encounter minor races and the rare anomalous entities and map out wormholes...as some may be useful.

Civ2 and Civ3 and Civ4 all had wonder building. You could manage your economy and create cultural buildings across the galaxy just for a sense of optimism and leaving something grand behind for furure generations. That is no less an accomplishment than conquest or domination.

You could have a demographics score (you have one with morale of systems) where high values reflect the eradication of hunger, disease, crime, poverty,etc. The only thing that changes are the the text displays based on the morale scores and whole new accomplishment awards.

You get an award and recognition for 100 sectors with morale score above 175+. That reflects the above. Whole sectors of space-time with zero homelessness or drug addiction or domestic abuse. The end of money based education.

[UesugiKenshin]

I don't know if there are maximum building slots, but you don't need four unique levels of security buildings for every empire, just four. Then a few race specific buildings like Section 31. And by paring it down then maybe it frees up special expensive buildings with high morale and economic benefits that represent the cure of cancer and heart disease. Maybe extended longevity free of aging by unlocking the mystery of telomere shortening and metaplasia.

BotE does not have to be a 4x about conflict resolution. It could be about creating terraforming to create entire systems of space time with no human habitation ie a sector totally devoted to Eden-like pristine worlds with zero pollution as entire habitats for untroubled species. A whole sector where war does not exist in any form as there are no people.

You could have whole worlds devoted to the creation of artistic expression based not on populism supporting it or wealthy patrons, but just because artistic expression is vital to living.

Wonder acheivement buildings would add a lot to a certain kind of campaign.

[UesugiKenshin]

You could have mini-goals like the membership of a minor race where they want to achieve a planet where the entire planet is created for annual athletic events ie a Summer and Winter Olympics where others compete for recognition. So the techtree reflects progression towards that goal as for the minor race, such athleticism is a virtue. The world is unhindered by industry or farms or research or building troops. Profit from elsewhere is diverted to allow that to progress.

Or an entire planet for academia with commensurate research bonuses that unlocks advanced tech to level 14 in some area. The Buildings unlock the tech level.

Or an entire world developed for agricultural studies that unlocks tech so hunger is eradicated.

Or an entire world where all soldiers train as it's devoted to physical perfection, martial arts, tactics of various kinds, weaponry research, shield engineering. You divert every ship there across vast distances to gain experience (level up) and maybe they never have to fight as they become so powerful they could squash any other troops. It really is a logistical logical puzzle ie "how do I redeploy all my troops through a rotation so they can spend a year on Arakhis to gain a military academic education plus field training?"

You could have revolts if you had scripting where people leave their membership through revolutions,then become extremely difficult to retake and maybe critical resources exist only there that are vital for the empire.

There is scoring in Civ2 for settlements so taking them achieves minor and major goals. Then the game becomes mission based. The player is directed to take and hold 30 specific strategic planets and that is what unlocks an achievement and is declared a win and it's just a medal in a sandbox game. Maybe it reflects a perfect state of medical knowledge that could defeat any disease of any kind.