[MOD 0.12.x] Scalar - Scale your technology - v1.0.2

[fishlips13]

Scalar - Scale your technology



Type: Mod
Name: Scalar
Description: A mod to scale technology costs and times with the option of scaling evolution with aim of extending the overall game time.
License: MIT Licence
Version: 1.0.2
Release: 2015-02-12
Tested-With-Factorio-Version: 0.12.22
Category: Gameplay
Tags: Technology, science, evolution
Download-Url: https://github.com/fishlips13/Scalar/releases
Website: https://github.com/fishlips13/Scalar

License

License

The MIT License (MIT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Niall Phillips (fishlips13)

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.

Version history

Version history
v1.0.0 (2015/02/12)
- Initial release

v1.0.1 (2015/02/13)
- Infinite Research mod bugfix

v1.0.2 (2016/02/20)
- Updated for Factorio 0.12.x
- Fixed a bug with modded technology items
- Found a typo(!) and fixed it (yay!)

What it does

What it does
Scalar allows you to edit all technologies and the evolution rate by applying scalar values to their attributes. You can scale tech repetition, tech time, tech ingredients and evolution factors all together or individually, and with a few extra options aswell. All this can be done via the config file and all changes are applied to all technologies, even mod ones.

How you use it

How you use it
Download the zip file from the link above and place the contained folder into your mods directory.

To enable/disable a feature flip the appropriate bool in the config file. The mod will change appropriate tech and/or evolution values based upon the specified values.

eg.

Code: Select all

ENABLE_TECH_COUNT == true    -- Research repetition scaling is enabled
TECH_COUNT_SCALE = 2         -- Repetition is doubled (eg. 10 to 20)
TECH_COUNT_SCALE = 0.5       -- Repetition is halved (eg. 10 to 5)

See the README file and the annotations in the config file for a description of each feature and available options.

IMPORTANT: Be sure to restart the game to apply any changes made.

Questions Quirks Tips

Questions/Quirks/Tips
"But what about evolution? If my tech takes forever to research, won't the Biters get too strong?"

By default and when enabled, evolution scales with tech cost and tech time modifiers multiplicatively.
eg. 2x count -> 0.5x evolution or 2x count, 2x time -> 0.25x evolution

______________________________________________________


"Automatic? But that doesn't work for me!"

We've got you covered! The default behaviour can be overridden in the config file with custom values.

______________________________________________________


"Can I go really crazy with these numbers?"

Yes! Within reason ... Just remember you have to produce enough science/have enough labs to make really big numbers viable in terms of gameplay. All values must be above 0, and the final result of tech/science pack count are rounded down but can only can go as low as 1.Time and evolution can go as low as you like.

______________________________________________________


"I have an old save and I want to play it with Scalar."

Certainly! Scalar will convert old new tech/evolution new new values. This feature is off by default. To turn it on, in the config file enable either of the following:

Code: Select all

TECH_REBUILD_ON_LOAD
EVOLUTION_REBUILD_ON_LOAD

These will enable reloading for tech or evolution respectively with the new Scalar values. Then load up the save file and save it back to keep the changes. The same works in reverse to revert new values back. Just remember, any save you open up with these features enabled will also be modified, so be sure to disable rebuilding when you're done.

______________________________________________________


"I looked at your config file ... there's cheats!"

There are 2 optional 'cheats' available:

Code: Select all

AUTOMATION_TECH_CHEAT
INSTANT_FREE_TECH_CHEAT

The first is 'Automation 1 doesn't scale'. Imagine you're playing with 100x research count. Now imagine having to craft 10 x 100 red science packs (1000) before you can get going with the rest of the game. This cheat keeps the first research at base values. A potential headache saved.

The second simply makes all research instant and free, but you still need a lab to research it, pre-requisites are still necessary and you still need to click the 'Research' button! This is more of a godmode tool for experimentation, etc.

One potential use is to acclerate the start of a savegame. Turn ON the cheat, start a game, do some instant research, save + quit, turn OFF the cheat, ENABLE tech rebuilding, load the save again, save + quit, and DISABLE tech rebuilding. This will preserve the tech you instantly researched, but allow you to do it the old fashioned way beyond that.

______________________________________________________


"Ooo! OOO! I Found a bug/have a cool addition for your mod!"
Post here and I'll do my best to help! Alternately, I have a GitHub for the mod and those fluent with Git are welcome to post Issues or Fork a copy to work on it. Scalar is licenced under The MIT licence so editing/reuse is freely permitted.

______________________________________________________


"Math puns?! *SIREN* Fire all Phasers!!!"
The name? Indeed, it's a pun on mathematical scalars. The interface via the config file is all simple numbers that are multiplied with in-game values. They're all scalars that scale your tech. My inner nerd quivers with glee. Hahaha.

How It Works

How It Works
When Factorio is loaded, all the data from 'data.raw' is loaded into memory. Just after this, Scalar jumps in gets the old values, modifies them and sends them back (with a liberal degree of error checking to be certain nothing untoward happens). This requires a game restart for changes to take effect but the work is done at loadtime with little runtime overhead.

Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts
It's been a great learning experience making this mod. It's my first real piece of coding I've done in a long time. Learned a lot about LUA, versioning, licences, and of course the inner workings of Factorio itself. I hope to continue as I've set off, and I hope you guys/girls get as much out of this mod as I did making it.

[hoho]

Seems like I'm not the only one who was looking for ways to make research a bit more tough

Though I took a different path by requiring more of the lower-tier science packs the more complex the research recipe is. If you are interested in the general concept you can take a look at it here: https://github.com/hohounk/ZTech
I haven't updated my own mod to the new data-updates stuff yet so it might not work too well out-of-box as it needs to be last mod to load.


I hope you don't take this as me trying to hype my own mod but just an alternative feature you might want to add to your own. I doubt that I'd be willing to work too much on my mod anyway.

[Gammro]

Nice idea, I always go so fast with research(/build slow), I am running ahead with research.
I have downloaded it and am now playing with it on my old save.

However, I find that it rebuilds every time the game is (auto)saved. I think this may be unnecessary.

[Airat9000]

-- Enable or Disable Feature
ENABLE_TECH_COUNT_SCALING = true
ENABLE_TECH_TIME_SCALING = false
ENABLE_TECH_RECIPE_SCALING = false
ENABLE_EVOLUTION_SCALING = false


-- Scaling Values
TECH_COUNT_SCALE = 4 -- Modifier for how many times a research needs to be completed
TECH_TIME_SCALE = 1 -- Modifier for how long a single research takes

research worked? in by mod
https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... =14&t=7702



by the way I want to praise, I liked fashion, complicates the game and makes it more interesting, by the way there is a proposal to do 2 mod already for recipes.

[fishlips13]

I hope you don't take this as me trying to hype my own mod but just an alternative feature you might want to add to your own. I doubt that I'd be willing to work too much on my mod anyway.

Not at all. I value your input, esspecially when expressed politely. <3 And indeed that's an interesting idea. The notion of non-linear scaling had crossed my mind (briefly) but I hadn't concidered your approach. It'll go on my list of "interesting things I should investigate more".

______________________________________________________________

However, I find that it rebuilds every time the game is (auto)saved. I think this may be unnecessary.

Ah, that happens if you leave rebuilding on. Now that your game has saved to the new Scalar settings, you can disable "TECH_REBUILD_ON_LOAD" and the changes will persist (and the annoying messages will go away!). That being said, the game should only use that code when loading not when saving. I haven't figured out why myself just yet, but its something I want to resolve. Most peculiar.

______________________________________________________________

research worked? in by mod
https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... =14&t=7702



by the way I want to praise, I liked fashion, complicates the game and makes it more interesting, by the way there is a proposal to do 2 mod already for recipes.

Oh dear! I hadn't even concidered the possibility of combination with infinite research! My first guess would be something to do with overflowing values. Hmm, I'll have to take a look at that in the next couple of days.

Also, do you have a link to this proposal? I admit I'm curious.

[Airat9000]

I hope you don't take this as me trying to hype my own mod but just an alternative feature you might want to add to your own. I doubt that I'd be willing to work too much on my mod anyway.

Not at all. I value your input, esspecially when expressed politely. <3 And indeed that's an interesting idea. The notion of non-linear scaling had crossed my mind (briefly) but I hadn't concidered your approach. It'll go on my list of "interesting things I should investigate more".

______________________________________________________________

However, I find that it rebuilds every time the game is (auto)saved. I think this may be unnecessary.

Ah, that happens if you leave rebuilding on. Now that your game has saved to the new Scalar settings, you can disable "TECH_REBUILD_ON_LOAD" and the changes will persist (and the annoying messages will go away!). That being said, the game should only use that code when loading not when saving. I haven't figured out why myself just yet, but its something I want to resolve. Most peculiar.

______________________________________________________________

research worked? in by mod
https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... =14&t=7702



by the way I want to praise, I liked fashion, complicates the game and makes it more interesting, by the way there is a proposal to do 2 mod already for recipes.

Oh dear! I hadn't even concidered the possibility of combination with infinite research! My first guess would be something to do with overflowing values. Hmm, I'll have to take a look at that in the next couple of days.

Also, do you have a link to this proposal? I admit I'm curious.

I'll try to test.
just think whether it will be 6 billion pieces explore.

[fishlips13]

Updated to v1.0.1 - Fixed a bug when used with the Infinite Research mod.

[cpy]

Does this mod works with mods like bob's mod?

[Airat9000]

Does this mod works with mods like bob's mod?

i am testing mod
mod is work in all mods and standart game (global research function)

here photo

[Airat9000]

Updated to v1.0.1 - Fixed a bug when used with the Infinite Research mod.

link in v1.0.0

[fishlips13]

Does this mod works with mods like bob's mod?

Yes. The mod checks all techs currently active in your game and should increase/decrease all of them by the same factor.

Updated to v1.0.1 - Fixed a bug when used with the Infinite Research mod.

link in v1.0.0

Woops! I had the wrong link from the start. Thank you. It's now been updated to the releases page. You should be able to see old verions now as well.

[Airat9000]

Does this mod works with mods like bob's mod?

Yes. The mod checks all techs currently active in your game and should increase all of them by the same amount.

Updated to v1.0.1 - Fixed a bug when used with the Infinite Research mod.

link in v1.0.0

Woops! I had the wrong link from the start. Thank you. It's now been updated to the releases page. You should be able to see old verions now as well.

I still have a question.

He will explore the more than 2 billion packets? let's say 6-12 billion

[fishlips13]

I still have a question.

He will explore the more than 2 billion packets? let's say 6-12 billion

Currently Factorio uses 32-bit integers to handle round numbers (even 64-bit Factorio), and the highest number a 32-bit integer can handle is 2147483647, therefore multiplying numbers that are *really* huge isn't possible. Infinite Research mod fulfils a niche where the player can dump science into a never-ending pool as a reason to keep going when all the main research is done. 2 billion is a nice number very close to this integer cap that, essenetially, gives the player the effect of infinite research.

In short, there's no reason to go higher than 2 billion and there's no way to make it work in-game anyway.

[hoho]

there's no way to make it work in-game anyway.

Well, one could make "science pack bundle" made out of 2 billion science packs and use them in research

Though that'd require new research labs, I think.

[cpy]

I'm currently testing 10x cost and 5x time settings in game. I will need to balance evolution and nest killing and i'll post my settings here.

[Airat9000]

i am game testing in 20x research! good long in research)))

new test in 100x)))

[cpy]

I use manual scaling of evolution because it would be slower than what i set it, i'm assuming 10x cost + 5x speed would be 50x slower when set to automatic?

[fishlips13]

I use manual scaling of evolution because it would be slower than what i set it, i'm assuming 10x cost + 5x speed would be 50x slower when set to automatic?

Indeed, automatic would be 50 times. The 2 modifiers for count and time are multiplied, and all 3 evolution factors are reduced by the result.

[Airat9000]

I use manual scaling of evolution because it would be slower than what i set it, i'm assuming 10x cost + 5x speed would be 50x slower when set to automatic?

Indeed, automatic would be 50 times. The 2 modifiers for count and time are multiplied, and all 3 evolution factors are reduced by the result.

I had an idea, and can be prescribed in the code of global variables that would let all technologies studied instead of 15, 30, 45, etc. in one variable is valid all the technology to 15 time, it is convenient if you put more than 100x study

[filippe999]

Does this linearly scale the results of research? for example automation buffs all assembly machines linearly while the research scales geometrically.