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| Re: Is StarsEd editor still available? |
Wed, 24 April 2024 09:35   |
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 iztok |
 | Commander |
Messages: 1207
Registered: April 2003
Location: Slovenia, Europe | |
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OFC it would be too easy to finish the quest so quickly. 
- When I copied the found folder with StarsEd to the comp with working Stars! and tried to run StarsEd, it failed to run with the message that the component Msflxgrd.ocx or one of its dependencies is not correctly registered or missing.
- Let's ask google... It's a file from Visual Basic 6 development studio. I didn't want to get it from strange sources, so I downloaded it from MS site in a cumulative update for VB6.
- OFC the update failed to install, because I didn't have VB6 installed.
- But the update could be opened with 7zip, and I finally extracted the file to System32 folder and ran its registration.
- OFC the registration failed, regsvr32 claiming it's missing dependent DLL files.
- Thinking "Heck it!" I started my ancient portable from around year 2000 running Win XP, hoping I could install StarsEd there.
- The comp booted and I saw BIOS settings for about 2 seconds (the battery for BIOS died long ago, so it's a SOP) . Then its LCD blanked and stayed blank, despite the comp rebooted afterwards and loaded OS correctly.
- Connecting an external LCD didn't help. The signal it got from comp wasn't recognized as a valid one.
So the saga ...err... my quest for making Stars!'s AIs less crippled continues. 
BR, Iztok
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| Re: Is StarsEd editor still available? |
Mon, 06 May 2024 10:33 |
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| iztok |
| Commander |
Messages: 1207
Registered: April 2003
Location: Slovenia, Europe | |
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Hi!
Quote:Why are you playing against AI anyway?
After more than a decade without Stars! I was so out-of-game I decided I'd run a game vs. AIs to refresh my knowledge. That game did feel in first hours of playing like I was playing a radical expansion of an old game. Known concepts, but lots of things new of changed. Interesting, how much of my game knowledge became hazy or unavailable.  But despite all "newness", I noticed my left index finger was pressing the "V" key to mark the position of the event, without me consciously ordering it. Pure muscle memory, imprinted over some 15 years of running Stars! 
Anyway, with that modded game I've started several games with Humanoids in small dense uni vs. 4 AIs.
- The first one was a disaster WRT habitable planets, and two (allied) HE AIs took (almost) the rest of the uni.
- Then I started scanning the uni before I started playing seriously  . I also changed Humanoids by just 1 race-wizzard click in any category. That new race felt very different to play (about 35% faster ramp-up and cheap weapons and prop made A LOT of difference), so I abandoned it,
- and went back to basic Humanoids, but decided AIs will not be allied this time, and the uni density decreased to normal (didn't want to repeat bombing-out colonies of HE race 60+ times  ).
- After generating some 30 universes (some too good, many too bad, some with AI(s) too close) an acceptable one was found. HW mid east, rich with minerals and 4 medium greens and 6 small greens within 200 LY. No early breeder tho. The "closest" two were about 300 LY far, if I don't count the two HWs of the PP and AR AI.
- The expert AIs: AR in center, PP mid south, SS west south, HE west mid.
The state of that game now at turn 68 is:
- 19k resources from 32 planets, tech 10/13/11/15/10/6, half of it gained from HE and PP AIs via pop-drops (OUCH! with 15% PGR on HW) or lately from space combat.
- HE AI 28k resources, 49 planets (just started bombing 2 of them). Has taken some 10 planets from AR AI.
- AR almost extinct, 70% my doing. I'm "saving" two planets of it, one until it terraforms to green and the other one for the same reason AND for 8 Medium Miners that are mining minerals soon available to me.
- PP lost its HW 3 turns ago. I'm actively destroying its orbitals and will clear its remaining 10-ish planets in some 15-20 turns.
- SS I barely know it exists. 5 planets, tech around 10, flying around its territory with beta DDs.
- My HW held at 50% is still exporting pop to northern tiny and small planets (lots of them became available with terra-11),
- those 4 medium planets and 2 small turned to breeders (75%+ hab) around turn 50. Still held at 45-55% pop for exporting pop, now mostly to conquered planets of AIs.
- My "main" warship was for some 30 turns the 3-bazooka DD with 2 wolverine shields (modded game!) and sub-galactic fuel scoop. I should've put in it also the thruster for 1.5 combat speed, which would help it catching the 1.75-speed metamorphs the HE AI is fielding now. Hindsight is indeed 20/20. 
to be continued
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| Re: Is StarsEd editor still available? |
Mon, 06 May 2024 17:22 |
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| Braindead |
 | Officer Cadet 2nd Year |
Messages: 239
Registered: April 2005
Location: Ohio | |
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When you say Humanoids, do you mean you are actually using a pre-built AI design? Those are terrible!
In any case, welcome back! It's good to see more and more old-timers coming back. Join our discord too https://discord.gg/6PtFFJQdkE - we have over 100 people there and you get your daily doze of stars conversations from gameplay to rewriting it (yes, this is still going on and there is at least one playable version now).
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