Settings.txt (SEIV)
From SEWiki
Settings.txt defines the most basic and global parameters of the game. Some of the entries have a profound effect on game play. Luckily, most of them are self-explanatory.
Settings Properties
Allow CD Music := TRUE
This can have one of two values: TRUE or FALSE. If TRUE, then the game will play the music on the SEIV CD. If FALSE, it will not. Most of the lines are as simple as this. If set to TRUE, it is possible that SEIV will crash on certain systems if using either an Audio CD or the SEIV CD. If this happens, SEIV will stop responding after about 30% loaded.
Maximum Number Of Systems := 100
Although it is obvious what this line does, it is very, very important. When making a new game, the 3 map sizes, Small, Medium and Large, are proportionally based upon this number. A Large quadrant will have about 100% of this number. A Medium quadrant will have 66% of this number. A Small quadrant will have 33% of this number. The highest allowable value for this line is 255. Any number larger than this will cause the game to crash.
Minimum Empire Minerals Generation := 200
This line tells the game that if an Empire would otherwise make no resources (i.e.: it has no Mineral Miners) then it will instead make 200 per turn.
Scrap Facility Percent Returned := 30
This line is a percentage value. In the example above, when you scrap a facility, you will be refunded 30% of the facility's cost.
Planet Value Low Percent := 0 Planet Value High Percent := 150
These lines determine the possible range of values that randomly generated planets can have. In the example above, the 3 resource values can range from 0 to 150.
Planet Value Low Resources := 0 Planet Value High Resources := 500000
These lines are similar to the last ones, except that these determine the range of values for randomly generated planets in Limited Resource games.
Plr Planet Value Low Percent := 80 Plr Planet Value Medium Percent := 100 Plr Planet Value High Percent := 120
These lines determine the average values of Homeworlds. They can vary by as much as 5% from these values.
Upgrade Facility Cost Percent := 50
When you upgrade a facility, the cost is determined by this line. This value is the percentage of how much it would cost just to build the facility.
Event Percent Chance Low := 5 Event Percent Chance Medium := 10 Event Percent Chance High := 25
These are related to how commonly events occur, depending upon the option selected during game setup.
Maintenance Cost Amt Per Dead := 20000
This line does absolutely nothing. It is a legacy from a very early alpha version of SE4.
Empire Starting Percent Maint Cost := 25
This determines the base percentage of a ship's cost paid every turn. The Maintenance Aptitude racial ability is subtracted from this number.
Empire Starting Percent Reproduction := 10
This setting determines the base reproduction rate. The Reproduction racial ability is added to this value directly, as are the modifiers for the conditions and happiness level of a planet.
Combat Fighter Group Amount := 20 Combat Mine Group Amount := 20 Combat Satellite Group Amount := 20
These settings determine the size of unit groups that are launched during combat. They are overridden by the empire's strategies.
Defending Units Per Population := 20 Population Defender Attack Strength := 10 Population Defender Hit Points := 30
These lines determine the number and strength of the Militia that defend planets from invasion. The first line translates into this: population / 20 = # of militia. The other two determine the combat strength of each militia unit.
Automatic Colonization Population := 0
When a colony ship colonizes a planet, this value is added to the population in the cargo bays of the ship to the new colony.
Planet Value Percent Loss After Owner Death := 10
When you glass a planet (destroy the colony on it, without conquering it), it's value decreases by this amount.
Retrofit Cost Percent For Comps := 120 Retrofit Cost Percent For Comp Removal := 30
These lines determine the cost of adding and removing components to a ship when using the Retrofit order.
Retrofit Max Percent Difference in Cost := 50
This line is the limit for the difference in total cost between a ship and a new design that you want to retrofit it to. If a ship costs 10000 resources, then any design that it is legal to retrofit it to can cost a maximum of 15000 resources.
Empire Base Planet Mineral Usage Rate := 2000 Empire Base Planet Organic Usage Rate := 2000 Empire Base Planet Radioactive Usage Rate := 2000
These lines determine the base build rate of planets without a space yard.
Construction Queue Emergency Build Rate Percent := 150 Construction Queue Slow Build Rate Percent := 25
These are the lines that determine how much the build rate is modified by when a space yard is giving the Emergency Build order.
Damage Points To Kill One Population := 10
This line determines how much damage it takes to kill 1 million population.
Population Required to Operate One Facility := 50
This setting is not implemented in the game code. It does absolutely nothing.
Number Of Population Modifiers := 12 Pop Modifier 1 Population Amount := 99 Pop Modifier 1 Production Modifier Percent := 100 Pop Modifier 1 SY Rate Modifier Percent := 100
These lines are what determines the population modifiers on resource production and space yard rate. The first line must equal the number of modifiers in the file. There can be more or less than 12. The settings are counter-intuitive. The Population Amount is the largest population that will receive the Modifier Percent levels, rather than the minimum amount that will get the bonus. A larger population receives the next bonus listed.
Characteristic Physical Strength Max Pct := 150 Characteristic Physical Strength Min Pct := 50 Characteristic Physical Strength Pct Cost := 25 Characteristic Physical Strength Threshold := 20 Characteristic Physical Strength Threshhold Pct Cost Pos := 100 Characteristic Physical Strength Threshhold Pct Cost Neg := 10
These lines are what determines the cost of purchasing the racial characteristics when creating an empire. The Pct Cost is how much it costs to raise the trait by 1%, or how many points are given by reducing it by 1%. The Threshold value means that if you raise or lower the trait by more than (in this case) 20%, then the Threshold Pct Cost kicks in. From that point on, it costs the Threshhold Pct Cost Pos to raise the ability by 1%, and you get Threshhold Pct Cost Neg for each 1% below the Threshold. In this example, Strength can be raised to 120 for 25 points per 1%. For the 121% and above, it costs 100 points per 1%. The trait can be lowered from 100 to 80 for a return of 25 points per 1%. Lowering it to 79% only yields 10 points.
Mood Riot Modifier := 0 Mood Angry Modifier := 80 Mood Unhappy Modifier := 90 Mood Indifferent Modifier := 100 Mood Happy Modifier := 110 Mood Jubilant Modifier := 120
These lines determine what a colony's happiness level does to it's production. The base production amount is multiplied by these percents. In this example, an Indifferent colony produces at normal capacity. A Jubilant colony produces 20% more than an Indifferent one.
Number of Quick Start Styles := 16 Quick Start Style 1 := Amonkrie
These lines determine how many races are possible in a Quick Start game, and which races these are.
Num Intro Songs := 1 Intro Song 1 Track := 9 Num Background Songs := 8 Background Song 1 Track := 2 Num Combat Songs := 6 Combat Song 1 Track := 4
With these lines, you can use a different music CD while playing SEIV to have different songs play in the background. You can add more tracks if there are more than 8 on the CD that you want to use.
Combat Base To Hit Value := 100
This is the chance to hit an enemy ship at range 0. Increasing it makes it easier in general to hit ships. Decreasing it makes it harder to hit ships.
Combat To Hit Modifier Per Square Distance := 10
This value is subtracted from the Base To Hit Value for each square that is between the firing ship and it's target. If the target is 4 squares away, then the ship receives a -40 penalty to hit.
Intelligence Defense Modifier Percent := 120
For purposes of resolving Counter Intelligence Projects, the amount of points that the defender has put into their project(s) is modified by this percentage value. For example, if an empire has put 10000 points into a Counter Intelligence Project, they would count as 12000 points for purposes of seeing if enemy intelligence projects can overcome it.
Ground Combat Damage Modifier Percent := 30
This modifier is used to increase or decrease the amount of damage done in ground combat (to both sides). Its a good way to speed up or slow down ground combat.
Number Of Space Combat Turns := 30 Number Of Ground Combat Turns := 10
These lines determine the maximum number of turns that can occur in one combat. Setting Number Of Ground Combat Turns to 1 or 2 makes it so that reinforcements on both sides can be dropped more easily on the besieged planet. Also, if the combat takes more than one Game Turn, the planet can build Troops to fight in its defense.
Ram Ship Source Modifier Percent := 60 Ram Ship Target Modifier Percent := 100
These values modify the damage done to the opposing ship when a Ram order is executed. The Ram Ship Source is applied to the damage done by the ship that is doing the ramming (the one that executed the Ram order). The Ram Ship Target is applied to the ship that is getting rammed (the target of the Ram order). The damage done by each ship in the ram is equal to the total remaining structure of the ship (its hit points), with shields not included in this figure. Damaged ships do less damage in a ram. This total is then modified by the appropriate value, Source for the rammer or Target for the rammee. Damage done by the ramming ship is Normal damage. Damage done by the rammed ship (target) is Skips Shielding damage. So, shields are ignored for the damage done to the ramming ship, but the damage done to the rammed ship is applied to shielding first. If the ramming ship has Warheads on it, then the Warhead damage is added to total damage that it does.
With the default values, say you have a ramming ship with 400 structural hit points and 400 shield points, and a target ship with 300 structural hit points and 400 shield points. The ramming ship will do 240 damage to the target ship. The target ship will do 300 damage to the ramming ship. After the ram, the ramming ship will have 100 structural hit points and 400 shield points left (assuming no shield generating components were destroyed) and the rammed ship will have 300 structural hit points and 160 shield points left.
AI Uses Mega Evil Empire := True AI Mega Evil Empire Threshold Score Thousands := 500 AI Human Mega Evil Empire Score Percent := 170 AI Computer Mega Evil Empire Score Percent := 250
These lines determine when (and if) an empire triggers the Mega Evil state. While in this state, all AI empires will declare war upon the Mega Evil empire, and will not accept peace. The empire must have a score of at least the "Threshold Score Thousands" value. It's score must be at least "Human Mega Evil Empire Score Percent" as much as the 2nd place empire.
Home System Percentage Value With No Spaceport := 25
This is used only in score calculations. If the Home System of an empire loses it's spaceport, then it still adds 25% of it's score value to the empire's score.
Random Player Personality Groups := 4 Random Player Personality Group 1 Percent := 30 Random Player Personality Group 2 Percent := 30 Random Player Personality Group 3 Percent := 30 Random Player Personality Group 4 Percent := 10
These have to do with AI empires selected during a game setup with random empires.
Captured Ship Additional Reload Combat Turns := 10
If a ship is boarded and captures, it must wait this many combat turns before it can fire again.
Maximum Population For Abandon Planet Order := 50
You cannot give the Abandon Planet order to a planet that has more than this level of population.
Population Mass := 5
This is how many Kilotons of cargo space one unit of population takes up. One unit of population is 1 million people.
Reproduction Check Frequency := 1
Changing this value can slow down the rate of reproduction. At the default setting, this causes the population growth rate per turn to equal the planet's Reproduction Rate / 10. Increasing this value will slow down reproduction. If set at 10, as in Proportions, then the growth rate is only 1 / 10 the normal value. The Reproduction Rate then becomes the population growth per 10 years instead of per 1 year. It functions according to this formula: pop growth per turn = planetary reproduction rate / 10 / reproduction check frequency
Minimum Computer Player Low Setting := 1 Maximum Computer Player Low Setting := 3 Minimum Computer Player Medium Setting := 3 Maximum Computer Player Medium Setting := 7 Minimum Computer Player High Setting := 6 Maximum Computer Player High Setting := 10 Minimum Neutral Player Low Setting := 1 Maximum Neutral Player Low Setting := 3 Minimum Neutral Player Medium Setting := 3 Maximum Neutral Player Medium Setting := 7 Minimum Neutral Player High Setting := 6 Maximum Neutral Player High Setting := 10
These determine the range of the number of computer opponents generated when creating a game with a random number of AI players.
Fighter Supply Usage Per Turn := 5
This setting controls how many supplies a fighter in space (not in cargo of a ship or planet) uses per game turn.
Fighters Can Be Hit By Mines := True
This controls whether fighters can hit mines or not. If set to false, fighters can enter sectors with enemy mines in them and they will not trigger them.
Maximum Planet Percent Value := 250 Minimum Planet Percent Value := 0
These settings control the range of values that a planet can ever have in an infinite resources game. The most common way that planet values change is through the use of Value Improvement Plants. With the sample settings, a Value Improvement Plant cannot raise the value of any planet above 250%.
Maximum Planet Resource Value := 999000000 Minimum Planet Resource Value := 0
These settings control the range of values that a planet can ever have in a finite resources game. The most common way that planet values change is through the use of Value Improvement Plants. With the sample settings, a Value Improvement Plant cannot raise the value of any planet above 999000000 points.
Bases Can Join Fleets := False
This setting controls whether bases can or cannot join Fleets. If they can join fleets, they will share their infinite supplies with any ships that join the fleet. The point of bases having infinite supply is so that the players (and AIs) do not have to worry about resupplying an immobile base. The only way to prevent bases from creating infinite supplies for ships (while leaving them with the vehicle type of base and not making them Ships with 0 max engines) is to prevent them from joining fleets in the first place.
No Retrofit Adding Of Spaceyards := True No Retrofit Adding Of Colony Module := True
With these set to true, it is impossible to retrofit a ship from a design with no (Space Yard or Colony Module) to one with a (Space Yard or Colony Module).
Seeker Combat Defense Modifier := 40
This setting controls the inherent penalty to be hit of seekers (such as Capital Ship Missiles). Since this can not be modded for an individual seeker component, this global setting was added.
Planet Combat Offense Modifier := 30 Planet Combat Defense Modifier := -200
These control the base bonus to hit and bonus to hit (respectively) for planets in combat.
