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Posted by: Inglonias
« on: August 20, 2022, 11:41:37 AM »

Quote from: nuclearslurpee on August 20, 2022, 11:38:24 AM
Quote from: Inglonias on August 20, 2022, 11:17:32 AM
  • It is not possible to clear away generated ruins from a planet, nor is it possible to specify what type of ruin should be placed there. This is a little thing, but I recently got lucky and found alien ruins on Mercury. Since this happened in my first game in a long time, I didn't want to deal with that, but had no way to remove them.

You actually can do this, the SM button that adds ruins also removes them if present. Could be more clearly labeled but it is there.

Oh. You're right. I didn't think this happened because the system display did not refresh after clearing away ruins (We'll ignore the fact that I also missed the popup window explaining what was happening, too). That's a minor bug, then.
Posted by: nuclearslurpee
« on: August 20, 2022, 11:38:24 AM »

Quote from: Inglonias on August 20, 2022, 11:17:32 AM
  • While it is possible to use SM mode to establish communications with other races, it would be nice to have a button that fills in their "correct" name from the database. This is probably just me being unfamiliar with the game, but it took me looking at the DB to discover that the ship that jumped into Sol without warning and didn't need a jump point to do it was raiders.

This really only happens if the race refuses to communicate, i.e., usually this means it is a spoiler race. I guess a SM button would not be a bad thing, but from a RP sense it makes sense that if they never communicate you would have to make up a name and let it stick.

Quote
  • I remember that in VB6, it was possible to use SM mode to directly alter the number of each type of installation on each of my colonies, as well as change the amount of fuel stored there. My policy for what happens when I am stupid and strand a ship is to refuel them in SM mode and then deduct twice their fuel capacity from the nearest colony stockpile. This is possible to do from SM mode in VB6, but it is not possible without going into the database in C# Aurora.

You can alter installation numbers, but as far as I know fuel is not changeable. Would be a good addition.

Quote
  • It is not possible to clear away generated ruins from a planet, nor is it possible to specify what type of ruin should be placed there. This is a little thing, but I recently got lucky and found alien ruins on Mercury. Since this happened in my first game in a long time, I didn't want to deal with that, but had no way to remove them.

You actually can do this, the SM button that adds ruins also removes them if present. Could be more clearly labeled but it is there.
Posted by: Inglonias
« on: August 20, 2022, 11:17:32 AM »

In the transition from VB6 to C#, SM mode has been made less powerful. The database password being removed greatly mitigates this problem by allowing the players with know-how to make direct DB edits when SM mode falls short. However, I wanted to compile a list of things I wish SM mode had. This is obviously not a high-priority suggestion, and based on my understanding new SM features typically happen as you discover use cases for them during your playtesting.

  • The biggest shortfall I see for SM mode is in managing commanders - The only real SM options we have are to bring them back to life if they die (which is really nice, even if it is kind of broken as of 2.1.0) and to instantly produce more from the academy. There's no way to directly hire more commanders of a specific type and rank, nor is it possible to alter their bonuses from SM mode. It would be nice if we could do that within the game. The database tables for such bonuses are difficult to parse.
  • While it is possible to use SM mode to establish communications with other races, it would be nice to have a button that fills in their "correct" name from the database. This is probably just me being unfamiliar with the game, but it took me looking at the DB to discover that the ship that jumped into Sol without warning and didn't need a jump point to do it was raiders.
  • I remember that in VB6, it was possible to use SM mode to directly alter the number of each type of installation on each of my colonies, as well as change the amount of fuel stored there. My policy for what happens when I am stupid and strand a ship is to refuel them in SM mode and then deduct twice their fuel capacity from the nearest colony stockpile. This is possible to do from SM mode in VB6, but it is not possible without going into the database in C# Aurora.
  • It is not possible to clear away generated ruins from a planet, nor is it possible to specify what type of ruin should be placed there. This is a little thing, but I recently got lucky and found alien ruins on Mercury. Since this happened in my first game in a long time, I didn't want to deal with that, but had no way to remove them.

If I encounter more of these, I'll add them to the list, and other people who have requests can add them here. Since I have a little bit of SQL knowledge, I may not need too much help in terms of cheating, though I realize that some people who play this game may not know their way around a SQL database.