Okay everyone.  Due to load issues with the previous mod thread I have created this one and set the other for deletion.  I have read all replies in the previous thread, so please just continue within this one as if it is just another page.  Thanks everyone.

Ordian

Great the old thread was getting laggy on my computer a lot

Can't wait for "the pirate update"

unofficial name

Agree with Heinekus. Would and does make carreir cap more useful.

Thanks for Starting new forum. The new forum format really screwed the forums for me. Any forum with a ton of editing like yours killed my comp

tag for later

Ok, got the hang of small maps and managed a win after a couple tries.  It was back and forth (as it should be) until I finally managed to lock down a key planet which really helped me focus my defenses in a few places rather than chasing fleets all over the place. 

Early-mid game seems on target to me now but I'm curious what y'all envision for late game.  Once I got starbases in the mix, I was really able to lock down the pirate threat which freed me up to mop up the TEC.  Do you think a starbase should be significant enough investment to protect a system from pirates?  Once I had one up in the systems neigbhoring the pirate base, I was able to forget about pirate threats.  However, this didn't come early considering the new economy.  I really didn't have it locked down until after the pirates had escalated to severe.

At least for Vasari, the early-mid economy really makes you choose wisely.  Once I finally was able to break out trade ports and refineries, my economy started flowing nicely.  Even though I had the TEC bottled up eventually, they had some impressive defenses that took me a few charges to finally break through.

All in all, I ended up at about 4-5 levels of research but this may be normal on small, aggressive maps where the whole tech tree isn't intended to play out.

Really nice.  I'll keep messing around a bit and see what else I can check out.

Heinekus:  I think I might go ahead and do that, but I do not think I will increase the starting number of squadrons. Will however change the ValueIncreasPerLevel to .89 as that will provide the same effect for a high level carrier cap.

Mooster:  Well, the reason I am taking the pirates slowly is because with the current financial changes it take time to determine where an empire should stand strength wise at a given time compared to the vanilla version.  That I believe is key into making the pirates balanced, as knowing that you can better avoid making them over or under powered.  If I add vessels to the pirate raids I run the risk of overpowering players with large numbers that show up too early. I do plan on working in cap ships, but what I am currently working on is a way to get the pirate ships to themselves improve as the game moves on, so the reaper at the end of the game will be much stronger then the one at the beginning.  For me it would be easier doing it that way.

@ wolfcat9: I have not had time to test this in RL as work has been busy, but one quick question.  Are you comparing the current cost of the vessel at the time you do that, or the orginal cost? In the private beta the cost of vessels and structures goes up as the game progresses, so I am wondering if that might be what you are looking at.  If it is a comparision with the current cost of the vessel, then I'm not really sure what could be causing it.  The only thing the game will allow you to mod is how much a vessel will cost, not how much you get back when you cancel a build order.

As for lowering the cost of research, I will need to run some more tests as well as get some more feedback from the other lab rats on it.  I personally like the fact that there is now always drive to obtain more resources and you can not really just sit back and be content with the income you currently have.

Dzhel:  Well, I am currently looking to improve pirate ships as the game moves on, much like if they were also conducting research, so the reaper at the end game is much stronger then the reaper at the beginning.  I am currently working on different methods on how to go about this.

Ok but the piratesis just to annoy you rather than pack a punch so hard that it kills starbases but I for one don't mind a much more stronger pirate attack

Make up your mind Ordian..we may be your slaves but if you continue playing with our minds...WELL REBEL!!!!