Space Master Function

[greywolf (OP)]

If these issues have been discussed already, please point me to the right thread - I couldn't find it.

I'm fairly new to Aurora, have played the great tutorial, made a few experiences of my own, and now I'm wondering what the impact on the game of using the SM functions is.
My initial understanding was that it's some kind of cheating. But reading a number of forum posts (and the tutorial), it seems to be fairly common to use it for researching techs, for adding ships and for what-have-you, even by experienced players.
Next idea: It's a tool to get into the game quickly, to save time to build and research all the basic stuff, rather than putting it in the research and shipyard queues, advancing time for a couple of years or so (no idea how long it really would take), until it's all done. Maybe also a tool to create your own starting point(s), as you can set up your game(s) (using SM) in the way you want it (or them), then save the database(s) and then restore them rather than always starting a new game from scratch.

Fair enough. Two questions:

- Is there a point at all in NOT using SM? Or does not using SM early in the game simply mean boring years of micromanagement (in terms of game time) before you can start the game "properly"? I see a point for doing this (not using SM) from a role-playing point-of-view. You take over responsibility for the fate of your empire, and have to live up to the challenges. This includes researching base technologies, developing your economy, designing and building ships, starting small, before you can eventually grow - which may take quite a while, just like in real life.    
I guess I could ask the same question about using the conventional start option. I tried it once, but once I had the trans-newtonian technology discovered (using SM :-)? Would it be desirable at all, or a fun killer?

[Wave]

I've also been wondering about this. It seems that a lot of the more experienced players would rather skip the beginning than play through it.

[Erik L]

A lot of the write ups from experienced players gloss over the first couple of years as nothing much happens.

I normally play with the "house rule" of racial tech does not need research, so I use the SM "Instant RST" to grant the components.

[sloanjh]

Aurora has its roots in Starfire, which has the concept of a SpaceMaster to manage the fog-of-war issues and run the game (which are often called campaigns).  This is analogous to the role of Dungeon Master in D&D.  A search of my recent posts for "Aurora Starfire" will probably bring up a longer discussion of this.  The original code for Aurora was a program called Starfire Assistant, which helped the SM and players with bookkeeping.

Since the SM is the one who manages the game, he needs capabilities to edit the state of the game and see the state of all players.  SM mode lets the SM do this.  It's password protected so that the SM could send the DB to players for order entry without fear of them "peeking" at other players.

Since most Aurora games are solitaire, the user is essentially wearing two hats: an SM hat who sets up the game, and a player hat who plays it.  SM mode lets the user keep track of which hat he's wearing - when he's in player mode, he can stay out of SM mode and not be worried about accidentally violating the laws of (game) reality

So when you see people talking about assigning tech in SM mode, what they're (typically) really doing is deciding on the initial start for the game they're setting up - it's like making the dungeon and/or telling people at what levels their characters start.  I personally like to do conventional starts, because I've discovered that the resulting empire has a different feel after 10 years than a high-tech start would.  Others like to go with an ultra-high-tech start.  If you look at Steve's campaign writeups (and Kurt's as well), you'll see that they tend to have a wide variety of initial start scenarios - it's kind of like running an experiment to see what will happen.

There's one other way in which SM mode is used - to work around "features" (or bugs) in the game, or to implement house rules.  Aurora is less polished than a commercial product, so sometimes it's easier to use SM to dodge around a bothersome feature of the game.  I think it's fair to say, however, that most players don't use SM to "cheat" while they've got their player hats on; instead they use it to shape Aurora into the game they want to play.

John

[greywolf (OP)]

Thanks for the interesting replies. I see the point of using the SM function to set up games in different fashions, or to speed the game along in the early stages. I am also aware of the role of a neutral Space (or Dungeon) Master. And I will start an "instant RST" game - such a lot of things to discover in this game!

I'd still like to know in which way using the SM function impacts the game's balance. Or whether and how the AI reacts to the player using the SM function. For example, the research and build points the SM functions provide are known to the AI, and could be given to the NPR's, too. I think I read somewhere that Aurora differs from most other 4X games (or strategy games in general) in that the early stages of the game don't determine its outcome - no colony rushing, etc. This could indicate that using the SM function doesn't give you that much of an advantage.

I myself am a solitary player, no experience with (and no interest in) multi-player games. As a beginner, my main goal for playing Aurora is still to understand the game, to explore its features, strengths and weaknesses. In terms of gameplay, I'm mainly struggling with building and developing my "empire" and exploring the universe with its stars, bodies, jump points, etc - great fun! I have yet to meet an NPR, so the question how using the SM function impacts the game balance is still a theoretical one for me. But I'm aware that these guys are out there and sooner or later I'll encounter them.
I wouldn't mind to really swap hats, between player and Space Master. That's what I meant when I asked whether it was possible to watch the AI (or rather the NPRs). But this doesn't seem to be possible (at least not in a way digestible for me - I'm sure that the database and its progress during the game hold all information required).
Thus I'll continue with my two current roles, perspectives, perceptions, called it what you like - the lone empire builder, and the opponent of a (yet to discover) AI player personality.

May I repeat my question regarding the impact of using the SM functions on the game balance? Does the NPR AI react to the usage of the SM functions by the player? Does it give the player an advantage over the NPR's, if he uses the SM functions, and, if yes, is it an advantage with a big impact on the "dealings" with the NPR's?

[sloanjh]

May I repeat my question regarding the impact of using the SM functions on the game balance? Does the NPR AI react to the usage of the SM functions by the player? Does it give the player an advantage over the NPR's, if he uses the SM functions, and, if yes, is it an advantage with a big impact on the "dealings" with the NPR's?

Steve can answer this better, but I'll give it a quick response of how I think it works.

When a new NPR is generated, Aurora has to decide how big to make the economy, and how many tech points to give it.  To make this decision, it uses information based on (at least) player empires and time elapsed since startup (at least more tech at later dates).  I don't know if the information about player empires is only current information, or if it includes start information.

So use of SM will only have a secondary effect, as it will change the state of player empires.

"Does it give the player an advantage over the NPR's..." is not a very meaningful question - it completely depends on how you use it.  An answer that makes this obvious is: "of course being able to give yourself arbitrary resources, ships, technology, etc. gives you an advantage over NPRs, in the same way that having a mind-control device which allows you to control the actions of the DM in a game of D&D gives you an advantage - you can mold reality to suite your whim".

John

[greywolf (OP)]

Points taken, John - thanks !