No land-based bonus resources appearing

clocknova · September 16, 2002, 01:58

I recently got the urge to play a game of SMAC X and was shocked to discover a strange thing was occurring: for some reason, the game will no longer place any bonus resources on land squares. This goes for randomly generated maps and user-created maps. The only way I have been able to get bonus resources on land is to manually place them there in the editor, one square at a time. Obviously, this is ridiculous.

Maps that have already been made, such as the true maps of Planet, still have land-based bonuses. But if I click the "randomize resources/unity pods," all of them dissappear.

Before I go any further, I have to say that I am using the Mac version of SMAC X, so this might be some kind of Mac-specific issue. I started noticing this while using the Carbonized beta versions that Brad Oliver released for OS X. But I actually went back, booted into OS 9, and did a fresh install from the CD, and the problem persists. How this can be, I have no idea. This has never happened before.

So it's not a bug introduced in a later update. It might be an OS-related conflict but, for the life of me, I cannot think of any kind of conflict that would have such a strange and specific result. Has anyone here ever seen anything like this? Any Mac players here with any ideas?

Lefty Scaevola · September 16, 2002, 08:47

Sounds like some file is corrupted.

clocknova · September 16, 2002, 10:32

I'd say so too, but I dont't know what. As I said, I reinstalled the game, so all the files should be fresh from the CD, but it still happens.

Perplexing.

Maniac · September 16, 2002, 12:30

Perhaps a stupid question but...

Did you use to play plain SMAC with Unity Pods only around your landing site? And is due to installing SMAX the preference reset to pods all over the world? That would explain a serious decline in bonus resource appearance as no-pod maps have plenty more resources IIRC..

clocknova · September 16, 2002, 13:09

Nope, I've never touched that setting. But when I reinstalled the game, I deleted the old preferences, so that would have reverted to default, anyway.

***NOTE*** Non Mac users may not get much out of the next paragraph.

The only difference that I can think of between what is happening now and all of the other games of SMAC and SMACX I've played is that before, I was playing on a G4 400 AGP, and now I'm on a Quicksilver 800. The OS was the same, as far as I know- both 9.2 and 10.1.4-5.

This is the first time I've tried to play SMAC on this computer, though what possible effect that could have I don't know. It shouldn't make any difference, at least, not in so specific a way. I can understand if a hardware incompatibility made the game crash or freeze. But to do something so particular as to remove the bonus resources from landmasses- that can't be the explanation.

I am completely perplexed. Brad Oliver doesn't seem to know, either.

Petek · September 16, 2002, 19:29

I think Maniac has the right idea. I just started four games of SMAX on various maps, all with "pods" on. None of the maps had any bonus resources on land squares. I then started a couple of games with "pods" off. These maps had plenty of bonus resources. (This is on a PC, not a MAC, however.)

So, in your games, do you play with pods on or off? If your maps have pods, then I think it's normal for there to be no bonus resources on land.

clocknova · September 16, 2002, 20:14

Hmm. I always play with pods on, meaning pods everywhere, not just at the landing sites. However, since I have always played with pods on, and I have always had bonus resources scattered over the land, this cannot be the answer. Perhaps turning pods off increases the bonus resources, but "pods on" does not eliminate them.

Sikander · September 16, 2002, 20:23

With pods on every bonus square is "covered" by a pod. When you pop the pod the bonus is revealed. Try it out and see if they are merely covered by the pods.

Petek · September 16, 2002, 20:35

Sikander said what I was trying to say: With pods on, you don't see the resources until you pop the pod.

clocknova · September 16, 2002, 21:16

Yes, I just verified that it works this way. But what I am saying is that it did not always do so. I have always played with pods on and there have always been resources on land- until now.

I've been playing this game for years, so I know that I am not imagining this. Can anyone here verify what I am saying? Is anyone else playing with pods on and getting resources on land?

clocknova · September 16, 2002, 21:22

As further proof that I am not completely delusional, I have several maps that I made for SMAC that have random scattering of bonus resources and pods on both sea and land. And I know that I did not use the editor to manually place resources or pods, one at a time, over a 256 x 256 map. I used the "scatter" menu item, which now only scatters pods.

clocknova · September 16, 2002, 21:29

One other thing- every version of the "Map of Planet" has both Unity Pods and bonus resources on land. Why let the "official" map do something so drastic that a random map cannot (other than the fact that it looks far more like a real map than anything the random generator could ever produce, of course)?

Urban Ranger · September 20, 2002, 01:13

On my PC, some bonus resources are covered by pods and some aren't.

Maybe it's one of the settings you changed by mistake?

clocknova · September 20, 2002, 12:53

No. I tried that. None of the preferences have any effect.

gwillybj · September 20, 2002, 22:47

Quote:

Urban Ranger wrote:
On my PC, some bonus resources are covered by pods and some aren't.

Ditto here. Some visible, some covered. PC SMAC v4, Scattered Pods on.
Something I've experienced frequently as the turns roll by: The frequency of pod-covered bonus resources (and most other goodies) decreases and worm-infested pods increase. I haven't noticed (or paid any attention to) whether the native life abundancy setting is related to this. It might even be my imagination.

clocknova · September 20, 2002, 23:04

That's what I've been waiting to hear. So, you can verify that when you play with pod scattering on, you do at least have some visible bonus resources? My problem is that I don't. There are absolutely no visible bonus resources in my games.

gwillybj · September 21, 2002, 00:08

Verified. I can't duplicate your situation.
I've just now tried several combinations of different map sizes with pods on and off. Every time I've had a mixture of visible bonuses and pods.
I would try this: un-install the game, delete the folders, and re-install (full install if possible), and, of course, apply the relevant patch!
Save any downloaded or home-brewed files in another directory before deleting the SMAC folders.
For the patch to work properly (SMAC v4, I don't know if this applies to SMAX v2):

Install the game from the CD.
Play one turn of any type of game (the parameters don't matter).
Exit the program (don't bother saving the game).
Install the patch.

I don't remember where I read that or what reasons were given, but it made a difference when I forgot to do it this way once. I had a devil of a time until I realized I hadn't played a turn before patching.
edit: I wrote all this, then remembered you're an a Mac, so there might not be a patch? But a reinstall after deleting the folders might work