Conventional NPR's

[Rich.h (OP)]

I am holding off starting a new game until the arrival of 6.50 as the changes look to make a serious large long game possible with that release. However that doesn't stop me throwing 3001 ideas around my head for how to run the next game, the one currently peaking my interest is going with a multi nation Earth start making use of the peace counter etc. The main problem here is I would like it to go in the direction of a few nations on Earth which move out into the solar system at large, but never get to the point of extra solar colonies until humanity is reasonably unified as a species. My thinking was that I could semi force this to happen by having myself and all Earth NPR's start out as conventional empires. I know that normally a conventional NPR can be seen as a free planet with "willing" workers due to how they do not expand. What I am wondering though is do they just not expand outside of their home system due to a lack of trans newtonian tech, or do they simply not expand at all and do nothing but sit on a planet waiting for an enlightened leader to come along and uplidt them?

If I were to setup a game with perhaps four Earth NPR's all conventional will I be likely to see any of them attempting to set up a colony on Mars for example?

[MarcAFK]

You can't make conventional NPRs. I think you could at one point but not anymore.

[Erik L]

You can't make conventional NPRs. I think you could at one point but not anymore.

Start a player race as conventional. Then switch it to a NPR. I believe that is still a thing.

[Garfunkel]

Has anyone tried that and do they actually do anything? I thought that the reason you cannot create conventional NPRs is that there is no AI algorithm for them to progress from conventional to trans-newtonian stage.

[Erik L]

Has anyone tried that and do they actually do anything? I thought that the reason you cannot create conventional NPRs is that there is no AI algorithm for them to progress from conventional to trans-newtonian stage.

There is that drawback...

[Rich.h (OP)]

I understand that a conventional NPR will  never progress to the trans-newtonian stage. But will they still expand within their own solar system using just the conventional tech or do they only ever sit on their home planet doing bugger all but watch tv all day?

[MarcAFK]

I didn't know you could switch to NPR, I tried using the create empire option which greys out tge NPR option when you check conventional or vice versa.

[sloanjh]

There are two types of NPR: player-controlled (PC) and computer-controlled (CC). 

CC are invisible to you outside of designer mode (looking at them is what designer mode is for), other than IIRC seeing event notifications for them when you're in SM mode.  They are controlled by the AI, and can't progress from industrial to trans-Newtonian.  They also have some special rules applied to them, such as not keeping track of fuel usage.

PC are on exactly the same footing as a player race from the point of view of the game.  The only difference is in interpretation - they're not "your" race.  You as the human have to control them etc. - this is what the "set default race" functionality is for.  They're a legacy from before CC races were introduced into Aurora.  If you read the original (Starfire) Rigellian Diaries, ALL of the races there (including the Bugs) are PC.

So as Erik says you should be able to make conventional NPR, but they will be PC and you will have to role play/control them (including their expansion into the solar system) - if you don't then they won't even be able to go buy the tv to watch (since they're not CC)   If Marc is correct then you can't make CC NPR at all.

John

[sloanjh]

I didn't know you could switch to NPR, I tried using the create empire option which greys out tge NPR option when you check conventional or vice versa.

You can't switch from PC to CC (99% sure).  I'm pretty sure Erik was thinking of doing the switch mentally from player race to PC NPR.

John

[Erik L]

You can't switch from PC to CC (99% sure).  I'm pretty sure Erik was thinking of doing the switch mentally from player race to PC NPR.

John

I want to say at one point there was an option to convert the player race to a computer controlled race.