File Format 001

This is the description of the theme file for Scheme 001. All lines in this theme file have the format as:

key=arg,arg ...

The key determines what the line is defining. The key is always followed by an equal sign. Any arguments that follow the key are always separated by a comma.

Version

The first line of the theme file contains the version of the theme. The version is just the date in a YYYYMMDD format.

An example of the version line is:

Version=19980924

This version number is display on the main Universe screen.

Costs

Costs are specified in the following format:

C#=research,engineering,resource,station,ship,power,economic

The "#" is the ID of that cost. Each cost must have a unique ID. Each tech and module will have associated costs with it.

The other fields are as follows:

research = Research Points
engineering = Engineering Points
resource = Resource Points
station = Station Manufacturing Points
ship = Ship Manufacturing Points
power = Power Points
economic = Economic Points

See the Techs and Modules sections for examples of this line.

Techs

Techs are specified in the following format:

T#=prereq,cost,name

The "#" is the ID of that tech. Each tech must have a unique ID. ID zero (0) is reserved.

The first field is the prerequisites of this tech. If multiple prerequisites are required for this tech, each one is separated by a period. A tech id of "T0" represents no that there are no prerequisites for this tech.

The second field is the research cost for this tech. This field is represented by a cost ID.

The third field is the name of the tech.

An example is below (including the appropriate cost line):

T11=T9.T8,C11,Plasma Technology
C11=40,0,0,0,0,0,0

This tech, called "Plasma Technology" has techs T9 and T8 as prerequisites and cost C11 as its research cost. Cost C11 is 40 research points.

Ship Modules

Ship modules use the "MH" key (except Colony Modules - see next section.)

MH#=tech,engineering,build,maintenance,name,type,value

The "#" is the ID of that ship module. Each ship module must have a unique ID. ID zero (0) is reserved.

tech = Tech required for this module
engineering = Engineering Cost
build = Build/Manufacturing Cost
maintenance = Maintenance Cost (Power)
name = Name of module
type = see table below
value = dependent on type - see table below

The definition of type is below:

Type Key Value units

Shield SH Shield Points

Attack AT Attack Points

Armor AR Armor Points

FTL Drive DR Parsecs/turn

Fuel FU Parsecs

Scanner SC Parsecs

Power PO Power Points

Computer CO Combat Bonus

Storage ST Resource Points

Type	Key	Value units
Shield	SH	Shield Points
Attack	AT	Attack Points
Armor	AR	Armor Points
FTL Drive	DR	Parsecs/turn
Fuel	FU	Parsecs
Scanner	SC	Parsecs
Power	PO	Power Points
Computer	CO	Combat Bonus
Storage	ST	Resource Points

Ship Colony Modules

Ship Colony Modules use the "MC" key. The following fields are used in the definition of a ship colony module.

MC#=tech,engineering,build,maintenance,modules,population,resources,name

The "#" is the ID of that ship colony module. Each ship colony module must have an unique ID. ID zero (0) has a special meaning and is the definition of all starting stations by all players.

The fields are defined as follows:

tech = Tech required to create
engineering = Engineering cost
build = Build cost
maintenance = Maintenance cost (while on ship)
modules = The list of modules for new station
population = Initial population
resources = Initial resources
name = Name of module

When designing new colony modules, it would be a good idea for each Colony to have a power module, environmental module and a storage module.

Ship Designs

Ship designs that are known are the start of the game are defined by the key "SD". The SD key has eleven arguments.

SD=name,shield,attack,armor,drive,fuel,scanner,power,computer,storage,special

Station Modules

Station modules use the "MB" key. The following fields are used in the definition of a station module.

MB#=tech,build,maintenance,name,type,value

The "#" is the ID of that station module. Each station module must have a unique ID. ID zero (0) is reserved.

The fields are defined as follows:

tech = Tech requirements (T0 = no requirements)
build = Build Cost
maintenance = Maintenance Cost per turn
name = Name of Module
type = Module type key - see table below
value = Dependent on type - see table below

Type Key Value units

Power PW Power Points

Shield SH Shield Points

Attack AT Attack Points

Station Manufacturing MB Station Manufacturing Points/Economic Point

Ship Manufacturing MH Ship Manufacturing Points/Economic Point

Environmental EV Population Points supported

Scanner SC parsecs

Research RE Research Points/Economic Point

Engineering EN Engineering Points/Economic Point

Storage ST Resource Points

Mining MI Resource points/Economic Points

Type	Key	Value units
Power	PW	Power Points
Shield	SH	Shield Points
Attack	AT	Attack Points
Station Manufacturing	MB	Station Manufacturing Points/Economic Point
Ship Manufacturing	MH	Ship Manufacturing Points/Economic Point
Environmental	EV	Population Points supported
Scanner	SC	parsecs
Research	RE	Research Points/Economic Point
Engineering	EN	Engineering Points/Economic Point
Storage	ST	Resource Points
Mining	MI	Resource points/Economic Points

An example of this line might be:

MB1,T0,C100,C101,Ship Docks,MH,1

Station Theme Factors

Station Theme Factors are store in the file as this format:

BF=growth,economic,miningL,miningE,environment,manufacturing,research,engineering

where each field of the line are as followed:

growth = Theme Growth Factor
economic = Theme Economic Factor
miningL = Theme Mining Linear Factor
miningE = Theme Mining Exponential Factor
manufacturing = Theme Manufacturing Factor
environment = Theme Environmental Factor
research = Theme Research Factor
engineering = Theme Engineering Factor

An example of this line might be:

BF=1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0

Race Designs

Example startup races are stored in the file as this format:

R=attack,defense,mining,population,manufacturing,economic,research,engineering,name

where each field of the line are as followed:

attack = Attack Factor
defense = Defense Factor
mining = Mining Factor
population = Population Growth Factor
manufacturing = Manufacturing Factor
economic = Economic Factor
research = Research Point Production Factor
engineering = Engineering Point Production Factor
name = Name of race

Some examples of this line might be:

R=1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0,Human
R=1.0,1.0,1.2,0.8,1.2,1.5,0.7,0.7,Cyborg

There can be multiple example startup races. Race Weights are stored in the file as this format:

RW=attack,defense,mining,population,manufacturing,economic,research,engineering

where each field of the line are as followed:

attack = Attack Weight Factor
defense = Defense Weight Factor
mining = Mining Weight Factor
population = Population Growth Weight Factor
manufacturing = Manufacturing Weight Factor
economic = Economic Weight Factor
research = Research Point Production Weight Factor
engineering = Engineering Point Production Weight Factor

An example of this line might be:

RW=1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0

Planet Designs

There are two factors that need to be defined for planet designs. These two factors, Mining Factor and Habitation Factor, are represented by distributions. See the Distribution page for specific formats.

PDM=distribution description
PDH=distribution description

PDM = the mining factor distribution
PDH = the habitation factor distribution

An example of these lines might be:

PDM=1,0,100
PDH=1,0,100

To make the game even, all "home" planets of races will have fixed values. These values are defined in a separate line with key "HPF".

The HPF key has two fields, representing the default mining and default habitation factors.

HPF=mining,habitation

mining = home world mining factor
habitation = home world habitation factor

An example of this line is:

HPF=100.0,100.0

Space Battles

Space battle factors are stored in the following format:

SB=battle,damage,shield

where each field of the line are as followed:

battle = Scheme Battle Factor
damage = Scheme Damage Factor
shield = Scheme Shield Regeneration Factor

An example of this line might be:

SB=0.5,1.0,1.0

Return to: Universe - Schemes - Scheme 001

Created: 31 Aug 1998
Updated: 6 Jun 2001