The Orion Nebula

Two things:

1. I want to create a race pick that is somewhere inbetween being able to choose only 1 technology in each field, and being Creative.

I wanted to make a pick where you could choose "two" technologies in a field, which in many cases would be the entire field anyway, but in others you would miss one or two. It would make a nice compromise between an "average" race, and a creative one, and could cost a point or two less making it an interesting addition to the Race Pick list.

2. To implement this I also wanted to know if it was possible to customize the picks assigned to computer opponents or at least the default ones.

Any help would be MUCH appreciated and it is great to see so many other "die-hard" fans of a Classic.

So, should I assume by the lack of response that no one knows how to do this? Is it simply impossible? If so, lets get it over with and crush my dreams right away instead of allowing me to continue to hope...

Hi, 5akari.

1. Impossible.

2. Possible (use PickHackv1.0 http://lordbrazen.blogspot.com/2005/01/download.html)

For number two, you can create the race for the AI if you like. Just stat a hotseat game and create all the races you like, then save at turn 1, and restart as a network game. Once you select your race, just hit start game, and it will be a single player game.

oh alright, that hotseat idea is really great. Thanks so much. Do you know why it is impossible to acomplish the first one: being able to choose only 2 and not all of the tech's in a field?

Because that would require changes that is extreamly hard to do in an hexeditor, if we had the sources it would be easy, but good luck getting thoes..

Maybe eventually we would be able to decompile the exe :O With like a super computer :/ Oh what I wouldn't do for the source code!

hahaaha, too bad.. I have been reading other posts and it sounds like almost all of our problems would be solved with that source code.

About the Hotseat -> Network game, I tried what you said; I started a "Hotseat" game, customized all the races I wanted, and tried loading the game in "Network", but it gave me the error message: "Comm Failure". Wtf is that? I looked at the Comm feature under "null modem" and "modem" and could not make much sense of it. But it looks like it should not matter, because that button is greyed out when you select "Network".

I did some looking around and found that I need to install this: "NWLINK IPX/SPX/NetBIOS network protocal"

Where do I find this, and do I need specific instructions to do so?

The "comm failure" message could be caused when the rkernel.com file is missing in the moo2 folder. See the dosbox guide.

I have the rkernel file but I am running Orion 95 in version 1.31 and I believe that is not the dosbox version. Could that be the problem? I would rather keep it the way it is if so, and not have to reinstall everything. Is there a simple fix I can download or do I have to reinstall anyway?

I read that others were having similar problems and they just installed the ipx network stuff I was talking about in my last post, but I do not know where to find it or how to install it. No one ever mentions that step... Lol.

We all use dos version and dosbox, since win version is unplayable in multiplayer. And you don't have to reinstall anything...See the guide; it won't bite.

Pick ideas:

Hydrophobic: Opposite of Aquatic almost; Get bonus to population on Planets with little water. (Desert, Arid, Possibly Barren Radiated? Penalty on Ocean worlds) Hydrophobic Races also require less food. (-33%?)

Avian: +Ship Defense, +Ground Combat on Normal and Low gravity planets (+ on High Gravity if also High gravity race). No + Combat in boarding actions.

New Concept: Ranching: Ranchers produce food like farmers, but instead of crops, they grow livestock.

Herbivore: Race can only consume vegetation (Vegetation is farmed more easily on planets rich in water, like Tundra, Swamp, Terran, as well as Oceanic (kelp))

Carnivore: Race can only consume livestock (Livestock is ranched more easily on planets with large steppe areas, like Desert, Arid, Terran, as well as Oceanic (fish))

Omnivore: Race can consume both vegetation and livestock, bonus to growth if both food sources available locally.

_Spiritual: +15% Morale, +25% pop growth, -25% Research. (2 to 3 picks?)

_Pacifist (nasty negative pick): Improve relations. Ships cost double. -10 to ground combat. -15% morale when in war (is that possible?) negative 6, 8 if the last idea can be implemented

*insert cool title*: All colonies produces 4 command points. about 4 picks I guess

_Defender (don't know if this is possible): missile bases/ground batteries/fighter garrison/starbase/battlestations/star fortresses/planet shields cost 60%. +15 to agents. 2 picks

_Famous: drastically increase the chance for heroes. 2 picks

_Environmentalist: doubles tolerance for pollution. Same as nano-dissassemblers 3 picks?

*insert cool title*: All colonies produces 4 command points. about 4 picks I guess

I'd use that pick. Actually a really nice Evolutionary Mutation pick, especially for non-Dictatorships.