Mad Scientist Mod

v2.5 Entrenchment Edition

ModDB Page

Support Email: madscientistmod@hotmail.com

New Technology Count: 94

New Plantary Ability Count: 30

MODS INCLUDED

1) Sins Plus v1.3 by Uzii (Modified)

2) Volumetric Explosions & Damage Effects ver. 1.12

3) Bailknights Graphic Mod v1.1

The mod is now available to modders to use in their own creations.  All that I ask is that proper credit is given.

Current changes:

New Opening Theme Song:  O' Fortuna:  a song that I believe gets the blood pumping without taking away any of the atmosphere of the game.

Retroactive Researching:  Reorganized the research benefits to give more sway to those with technological superiority against those of numerical superiority.  All technologies that require previous research in the same exact subject have been changed, such as a laser damage tech that requires a previous laser damage tech.  The game orignally gave the same bonus to both techs, usually 5%, and even though the second tech cost more to research, you still only squeezed out the same damage increase of the cheeper tech. For example

Tech 1: 5% damage increase

Tech 2: 5% damage increase

Tech 3: 5% damage increase

Tech 4: 5% damage increase

What I have changed is that I have made such researches retroactive in that the further you progress in that line the greater the bonus you receave per tech.  The formula I used is (current bonus + previous bonus=New current bonus)  So lets see that example again with the changes.

Tech 1: 5% damage increase

Tech 2: (5+5)10% damage increase

Tech 3: (5+10)15% damage increase

Tech 4: (5+15)20% damage increase.

I did this change for not only for weapons but all areas.  The techs in which this applys includes: Weapon Damage, Weapon Recharge Rates, Shields, Hulls, Antimatter, Armor, Trade, Resources, Planet Population, Culture, and maybe one or two I can't remember.  Note that this make certain aspects of the game you may have not concidered a threat much more powerful, such as enemy culture spread.

Fleet Tree Reorganized:  I have reorganized the Fleet Tree to accept additional technologies to be researched.  Note that any technologies I place in there will be able to be researched using both the military and civilian research stations.

Defense Techs Moved:  While doing the Retroactive Researching protion of the mod I fully realized that civilizations that progressed heavily in the non-combat research fields would basically stand little chance against the military minded civilizations as they would be easily destroyed.  In order to help prevent this I have moved the defense technologies from the combat tree to the fleet tree to allow all to research them.

New Techs Added To Military Tree: With the void now in the combat research tree I needed to come up with new technologies to fill it in, and with defenses now in the fleet tree but what else to put in there but more firepower.  All races now have added technologes that increase the rate of fire of all their weapons.  The bonuses here are also retroactive and if you research one weapon to its fullest, you will be pumping out an impressive 2x the rounds in the time span (100% increase)

Upgradeable Hanger Squads:  This change will allow you to upgrade your defense hanger fighters per squad.  It will be placed in the fleet tree along with the standard hanger defense tech that unlocks it so it is available for both research fields.  Both TEC and Vasari will be able to add a total of 18 fighters to their hangers through research (.5/.5==1.5/1.5==2.5/2.5) x2 squads and because the Advent already had a tech that did this I deleted it and the will be able to add a total of 24 fighters (1/1==2/2==3/3)

Required Weapon Platform Research:  Because the Hanger Defense is now available to both research trees, I am going to make the Defense Platforms (Gauss for TEC, Beam for Advent, and Missile for Vasari) a required research within the military tech tree.  Note that this will make it so one can no longer build defensive structures without the proper research.

Added Elements from the Sins Plus By Uzii (Modified):  I have added certain additional planets from the Sins Plus mod into this one.  The following Planets are now included within this mod:  Urban--Paradise--Industrial--Toxic--Relic--and Barren.  Gas Giants are also now colonizable.  Also added population cap research included in Sins Plus for both Gas Giants as well as Barren Planets and Astroids.

Starting Local Militias: The starting Militias will be changed and spawn based on the theme of the starting planet stated above.  TEC's on Tec Planets, Advent on theirs, and Vasari on theirs.

Planet Rebalancing: The following displays the method I will be using to rebalance the planets in the game.  Hopefully this will allow the planets to become unique without any of them becoming less important then the others.  Each planet has 20 points to spend among the 5 fields.

Reorganized Research Techs:  With the introduction of the new Defense Research Tree, I will be reorganizing the techs to allow for a more eye appealing layout as well as redefining the trees that certain techs should be in.

Planet Abilities: Every Planet will have an ability available to all races to research along with an additional researchable ability for the race best suite for the planet type.  What this means is now instead of only being able to research the planest that your race best represents, you will be able to research abilities for every planet type, but you still recieve an additional researchable ability on your race favored planets.

White = Universial, Green = TEC,  Blue = Advent,  Orange = Vasari

Terran: Population Growth Rate (+33%,66%,100%)///Weapon Range (+50%,100%,150%)

Urban: fighters per squad for structures (+1,2,3)///Fighters per squad for Starbases (+1,2,3)

Paradise: Planet Upgrade Cost (-20%,40%,60%)///Culture Spread (+50%,100%,150%)

Old Naval Base: Weapon Cooldown (+33%,66%,100%)///Shield Restore (+50%,100%,150%)

Forest: Structure Build Rate (+33%,66%,100%)///Hull Restore Rate (+50%.100%,150%)

Desert: Chance to be hit (-10%,20%,30%)///Culture Spread (+50%,100%,150%)

Ice: Speed of enemy ships (-10,20%,30%)///Shield Restore Rate (+50%,100%,150%)

Ocean: Planet Bombing Damage Absorb (+20%,40%,60%)///Energy Weapon Cooldown (+50%,100%,150%)

Relic: Ability Cooldown (+33%,66%,100%)///Antimatter Cost on non-ultimates (-20%,40%,60%)

Savannah: Structure Build Rate (+33%,66%,100%)///Hull Restore Rate (+50%.100%,150%)

Volcanic: Damage for Structures (+33%,66%,100%)///Culture Spread (+50%,100%,150%)

Toxic: Damage for Mines (+33%,66%,100%)///Shield Restore Rate (50%,100%,150%)

Industral: Ship Build Time (-33%,66%,100%)///Hull Restore Rate (+50%.100%,150%)

Barren: Planet Bombing Damage Absorb (+20%,40%,60%)///Speed Increase for Ships and Starbase (50%,100%,150%)

Swamp: Structure Build Rate (+33%,66%,100%)///Weapon Range (+50%,100%,150%)

Five Strike Craft Per Race: 

Intercepter: When it comes to the dog fight there is no equal.  With unmatched speed and manuverability, Intercepters are by far the best strike craft to clear the way of fighters and provide valuable escort for bomber squadrons. (Real World Representation: Mig series Fighter)

Fighter: While the Intercepter is its greatest threat, the fighter is the greatest threat to bombers.  With the ability to severly disrupt any bomber offensive, they provide valuable protection for structures and ships.  (Real World Representation: F-series Fighter)

Light Bomber: Because it is classified as a light bomber, do not think that this craft is a pushover.  It is in fact the toughest and most heavily armored strike craft available, and it has to be, as its job is to take on anti-strike craft frigates and carriers. (Real World Representation: A-10 Warthog)

Medium Bomber: A heavy cruiser's nemisis.  The medium bomber can deliver ordinace that can turn even the heaviest vessels to clouds of debris.  Only moderately armored and relitively slow moving, these bombers can fall prey to enemy fighter formations if proper precautions are not taken.  (Real World Representation: B-52 Superfortress)

Heavy Bomber: Go big or go home some might say, and these ships definately represent that very idea.  While only somewhat effective against most vessels, these strike craft shine when brought up against massive targets like capital ships and structures.  (Real World Representaion: B2 Bomber)

Roles for Strike Craft Building Units:

Capital ships: can build all three bomber types, as well as fighters, which make them strong in many areas.  They can be powerful in assulting enemy planets and heavy vessels(medium and heavy bombers), can be strong against other fleets with large frigate numbers (light bombers) and can protect their own fleet against bomber raids from other capital ships (Fighters).  Their flaw is that fighters only provide a marginal amount of protection against other fighters as well an intercepters.  This is where the need for cruiser carriers come in.

Cruiser Carriers:  Unlike in vanilla sins, cruiser carriers are now more protectors of their own fleet then an assult force.  They can launch powerful attacks against enemy frigates and cruisers (light bomber), can protect against enemy bomber forces (fighter), but are also tasked in the protection of the capital ships bomber forces against the enemy providing needed strike craft to act as escorts(Intercepter).  Their flaw is that they are weak against structures as well as heavy vessels.  This is where the Capital Ship squadrons come in.

Hanger Defenses:  Like Cruiser Carriers, the Hanger Defense also provides the same protection toward the planet it surrounds.  Its light bombers can devistate enemy frigates and hult their attacks.  Its fighter squadrons can hult the attacks of enemy capital ship bombers against the orbiting structures, and its intercepter squadrons can be used to protect the light bombers against invading forces that are relying on fighter support.  Their flaw is they cannot provide a powerful punch against heavy vessels such as capital ships themselves.  This is where Star Bases come in.

Starbase:  Starbases provide the same protection that Hanger Defenses with one notiable difference between them.  The starbase can also be strong against the heaviest of vessels, such as capital ships and heavy cruisers, with its ability to build medium bombers.  This allows it to provide the final area of protection that hanger defenses lack in.

Error Free:  In making the mod error free, I was forced to make Gas Giants uncolonizable, as the research to make them colonizable was causing issues with the game engine and giving me the an error.  While many people did not have a problem with, it was causing crashes on some systems, and therefore was decided to remove it.

Planet Abilities now require Starbases:  Planet abilities now require starbases in order to access them.  Some might think this as restrictive, however, I feel it adds to the depth of the whole entrenchment experience.

New Changes for 2.5:

Dubbled Max Research Levels:Max levels of many of the research will be dubbled in order to further use of the mod into later stages of the game.  Along with the Increased Need for Trade described below, it will definately be of use into many more hours of play then usual.  Take note that both ship supply and capital ship max will also be effected by this, dubbling the amount of vessels you can have.

Increased Need for Trade and Foundries: There will be an increased need for trade and foundries within the game. No longer can you expect to run a powerful empire on just taxes and extractors alone and still drown yourself in spare credits and resources.  No longer will you merely laugh when your full entire fleet gets wiped because you can easily have another ready in mere moments.  No longer can you expect to complete all the research in a cupple of hours on a meager handful of world.

Reorganized Pirates: With the increased power given by the added technologies, pirates have become seriously dwarfed by the strength of the empires, but no longer.  Pirates vessels themselves will improve as the game moves on, and once again become a feared enemy in the galaxy, or a powerful tool if you have the credits.