Modifying the game

[vorpal+5 (OP)]

So Aurora C# is still handling the data and save in a database if I get it right?

How open the game data would be to additions and modifications? Nothing super major, but I can see me adding some techs or buildings. But their functions are probably hard coded. For example would it be possible to have new buildings being hybrids of several, like a city district, producing money, crew but using up supply points?

Related to that, and reading the most recent AAR, my suspension of disbelief takes a hit when I see colony of 1 millions people which are self supporting. Ideally a kind of consumer goods usage would be nice, with 'civilian industries' producing them. And for once, Stellaris does it right, population just consume that to be sustained.

[Jorgen_CAB]

So Aurora C# is still handling the data and save in a database if I get it right?

How open the game data would be to additions and modifications? Nothing super major, but I can see me adding some techs or buildings. But their functions are probably hard coded. For example would it be possible to have new buildings being hybrids of several, like a city district, producing money, crew but using up supply points?

Related to that, and reading the most recent AAR, my suspension of disbelief takes a hit when I see colony of 1 millions people which are self supporting. Ideally a kind of consumer goods usage would be nice, with 'civilian industries' producing them. And for once, Stellaris does it right, population just consume that to be sustained.

I can't comment on the modability of the database, but I doubt that you can do that much, but you can do some. Perhaps even add new buildings as long as you are using current abilities unless they are as you say hardcoded. Aurora has never been a game for modders, while I strongly support moddability in games I respect Steves reasons for not doing this as this is not a commercial game.

As for sustainability I don't see why a world with one million people can't be self sustainable on fundamental level, makes perfect sense to me as the planet probably have all the neccssary basic minerals and resources needed for it. A large part of the population is dedicated to sustaining the colony and trade goods are basically excess on top of this. The game really don't go into any detail of civilian society.

I would never put Stellaris in the same sentence as doing much right in terms of economy. The game are dealing in basically only universally distributed resources and are completely unrealistic. It's economic system is very basic and simplistic in comparison with Aurora in my opinion even if Aurora abstract the civilian economy a great deal Stellaris have none at all as everything is state controlled except for maybe trade which are just a number and hugely abstracted.

[Garfunkel]

my suspension of disbelief takes a hit when I see colony of 1 millions people which are self supporting.

I'm honestly curious. Why is that difficult to believe?

[vorpal+5 (OP)]

sorry, there are some words missing in my argumentation  Indeed, a colony made of one million people, can have the proper infrastructure to be self sustaining. But this was related to the absence of a civilian building producing Consumer goods. Call me crazy, but I would have liked to handle also the consumer goods of civilian populations.

Now, and to play Devil's advocate, we are speaking of a one million people colony on a world with the mineral diversity of Earth. What about cases where the colony is a military installation, or a fledgling civilian colony of 50.000 people? What if you are on an asteroid or a mineral poor planet body? It is not a given that you have all the minerals at your disposal, or enough infrastructure to produce everything colonists might need.

[Tikigod]

sorry, there are some words missing in my argumentation  Indeed, a colony made of one million people, can have the proper infrastructure to be self sustaining. But this was related to the absence of a civilian building producing Consumer goods. Call me crazy, but I would have liked to handle also the consumer goods of civilian populations.

Now, and to play Devil's advocate, we are speaking of a one million people colony on a world with the mineral diversity of Earth. What about cases where the colony is a military installation, or a fledgling civilian colony of 50.000 people? What if you are on an asteroid or a mineral poor planet body? It is not a given that you have all the minerals at your disposal, or enough infrastructure to produce everything colonists might need.

I don't think there is anything within the Aurora 4x lore that states that the discovery of Trans-Newtonian minerals removed the ability to use traditional minerals for day to day goods production.

All we as a player see are the TN resources around the galaxy, nothing to do with the natural availability or what is being transported behind the scenes of traditional minerals that can be used to make the more day to day necessities of civilian life.

Given that so much of the economy has been shifted over to TN dependent processes, what little non-TN resources are naturally available could perhaps be spread out to supply the consumer industries still reliant on traditional materials with enough to last them centuries, and each new planet colonised or made into a mining operation with even trace amounts of traditional minerals extending that timeline by decades/centuries more.

[Jorgen_CAB]

sorry, there are some words missing in my argumentation  Indeed, a colony made of one million people, can have the proper infrastructure to be self sustaining. But this was related to the absence of a civilian building producing Consumer goods. Call me crazy, but I would have liked to handle also the consumer goods of civilian populations.

Now, and to play Devil's advocate, we are speaking of a one million people colony on a world with the mineral diversity of Earth. What about cases where the colony is a military installation, or a fledgling civilian colony of 50.000 people? What if you are on an asteroid or a mineral poor planet body? It is not a given that you have all the minerals at your disposal, or enough infrastructure to produce everything colonists might need.

Ok... I understand what you mean... I think that perhaps there could be some development in the civilian area of Aurora at some point, but I do think it work pretty well as is for now at least.

As an answer for the second question is that the infrastructure that you send to planets will cover most of the issues you supposedly have with mineral deficiencies and such. The infrastructure can be mining equipment or equipment to recycle things like water and minerals from what the population consumes and then rebuild with it, thing like hydroponic farming and the like.

When it comes to other planets I believe that "regular" minerals are always in enough supply that you don't have to bother. Mining for them is simply part of the civilian manufacturing sector, you don't need to bother about them at all.

Sure different planets could have different political climates, wealth distributions and things like that. You could also assume that the invention of TN materials have made consumer goods and needs so cheap they are no problem. The trade goods are basically luxury items being traded between colonies based on what luxury items they are better or worse at creating.

[vorpal+5 (OP)]

I have no issue with what you say both, it is logical and in any case, it is always easy to accept the rationalization or assumption made by Steve...

Just, that's something I would have liked to see, this added logistic... but I don't see this happening any time soon, Steve is probably not interested in adding yet another extra layer of micro-management, which, to be honest would have to be handled mostly by the civilian sector. I'll rest my case!

Perhaps what bothers me more is that I feel there should be decent, even significant, civilian traffic at all time, from home world to colonies and between colonies when properly developed. But perhaps it is what will happen if trade goods get exchanged correctly between them?

It also means we must have some tools to interdict solar systems to civilian ships, when there are hostiles. I think it is in. What is not though is a convoy system, as set by the allies in WW2. Civilian can travel, but under escort. Or Civilian can travels, but only in groups.

That would be great to see a bunch of merchant ships escorted by a few second-rate escort destroyers