Planetary Specials: display & role-call

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eleazar
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Planetary Specials: display & role-call

#1 Post by eleazar »

There have been requests to include planetary specials in the GUI, but i can't find much info about them. The v.3 reqs explains the "homeworld" special and hints that most of the meters could have specials that modify them. Direction to past threads that have relavant information on specials would be appreciated. I did a search but what i found was so old, it sounded like a discussion of another game.

The game currently has 5 specials "homeworld" and "starvation" in the "specials.txt", and a "ruins," "minerals" and "tunnels" special in "planetary_specials.txt". Is there any significance to the placement of specials into two files? This leads me to conclude that specials can be temporary statuses as well as permanent features.


I believe it would be best if the game displayed temporary specials like "starvation," "anarchy," "golden-age," etc. quite differently from permanent specials. I suspect temporary specials will usually be quite important for the player to address, so they should be very obvious. I would also recommend displaying a small symbol on the galaxy map near the star (perhaps "!") to indicate something important has happened.

Permanent specials should be displayed by icon on the sidebar as well. I believe it's best if there's a limit on the number of permanent specials, somewhere between 1 and 3 so the GUI can display them consistantly. Tons of specials per planet isn't KISS anyway.


Since there is a lack of specials, i propose this KISS pattern:

• Specials should make a significant difference.
• Specials should be rare, perhaps an average of 1 per system.
• Specials (other than homeworld) should modify only 1 meter.
• There are 2 advantageous specials for most meters:
* A lesser special that provides a plus of +5—+10 (this value should be the same for all lesser specials)
* A better but much rarer special that provides a +15—+20 meter bonus.
• There is 1 disadvantageous special for meters that could plausibly have them. It's the negative of whatever the lesser special bonus is.
• If Gaian worlds cannot be built, i propose "Gaian" becomes a rare special, rather than a planet type, because it's dumb for the lava-monster empire to be most at home on a Gaian planet that looks like earth.

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Re: Planetary Specials role-call

#2 Post by Geoff the Medio »

The newest version, and SVN, have a bunch of additional planet specials I added.

The most-recent script files are here:
http://svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/freeo ... iew=markup
http://svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/freeo ... iew=markup
eleazar wrote:Is there any significance to the placement of specials into two files?
planet_specials.txt are specials that may be placed on planets while the universe is being generated. The specials frequency in the galaxy setup dialog controls how many of these are present.

specials.txt is a general list of any specials that are defined by don't go in planet_specials.txt, or any other similar future specialized files.

specials from both can be added to objects using the AddSpecial effect, and both files' specials work exactly the same once placed on an object.
I believe it would be best if the game displayed temporary specials like "starvation," "anarchy," "golden-age," etc. quite differently from permanent specials. I suspect temporary specials will usually be quite important for the player to address, so they should be very obvious. I would also recommend displaying a small symbol on the galaxy map near the star (perhaps "!") to indicate something important has happened.
I really dislike the use of the starvation special in the v0.3 design, and will attempt to get it changed. Temporary things like this aren't really what specials should be for; permanent, or at least somewhat long term significant changes are more appropriate.

Any short term events will likely have associated sitrep messages. In this case, a sitrep attention grabber, as here would be more appropriate.
Since there is a lack of specials
Lack now doesn't mean there won't be more later... or rather lack previously doesn't mean none now, as in links above and in RC5.
• Specials should be rare, perhaps an average of 1 per system.
This is dependent on user preference at the start of the game, and whatever effects create specials after that.
• Specials (other than homeworld) should modify only 1 meter.
This is too restrictive. Primarily, it prevents value-neutral specials, that give a bonus to one thing and a penalty to something else, ie. a tradeoff, which is more interesting to me than purely good or purely bad specials (though we can have those as well). It's also just very design limiting, preventing logical combinations of effects in specials.
• There are 2 advantageous specials for most meters:
[...]
• There is 1 disadvantageous special for meters...
Why would we want to limit ourselves by requiring only a specific number of specials of whatever categorization you want to group them by? We obviously don't want dozens of generic unidentifyable or unrecognizable specials, but if there's a good idea for a new special that interesting for gameplay and conceptually, it's probably worth including.
• If Gaian worlds cannot be built, i propose "Gaian" becomes a rare special, rather than a planet type, because it's dumb for the lava-monster empire to be most at home on a Gaian planet that looks like earth.
Gaia planets as a concept need some discussion, but that probably needs its own thread, or should be in one about planet environment types...

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Re: Planetary Specials role-call

#3 Post by eleazar »

Geoff the Medio wrote:
eleazar wrote:I believe it would be best if the game displayed temporary specials like "starvation," "anarchy," "golden-age," etc. quite differently from permanent specials. I suspect temporary specials will usually be quite important for the player to address, so they should be very obvious. I would also recommend displaying a small symbol on the galaxy map near the star (perhaps "!") to indicate something important has happened.
I really dislike the use of the starvation special in the v0.3 design, and will attempt to get it changed. Temporary things like this aren't really what specials should be for; permanent, or at least somewhat long term significant changes are more appropriate.

Any short term events will likely have associated sitrep messages. In this case, a sitrep attention grabber, as here would be more appropriate.
I also would prefer it if things like starvation were not specials. What do we call them, "Statuses"? The attention grabber is good, but i don't see how it's "more appropriate." It's a specific implementation of what i recomended. I would only use it for important events (not ship construction). Or even better there should be a preference panel where the player can set which events appear on the sitrep, and which merit the "!".
Once we get good events, there should be a red and green one for good and bad news. The same attention grabber should appear in the sidebar. A mouseover should reveal the nature of the emergency. Eventually once, all the statuses are known, it would be better to make more descriptive icons, but the little "!" is quite a serviceable stand-in.
Geoff the Medio wrote:
eleazar wrote:• Specials (other than homeworld) should modify only 1 meter.
This is too restrictive. Primarily, it prevents value-neutral specials, that give a bonus to one thing and a penalty to something else, ie. a tradeoff, which is more interesting to me than purely good or purely bad specials (though we can have those as well). It's also just very design limiting, preventing logical combinations of effects in specials.
• There are 2 advantageous specials for most meters:
[...]
• There is 1 disadvantageous special for meters...
Why would we want to limit ourselves by requiring only a specific number of specials of whatever categorization you want to group them by? We obviously don't want dozens of generic unidentifyable or unrecognizable specials, but if there's a good idea for a new special that interesting for gameplay and conceptually, it's probably worth including.
I believe in an attempting-KISS game Planetary specials should be "special." They should also have obvious effect(s). The guidlines in my previous post were an attempt to move past the apparent problem of only 3 specials. But i still believe there's value in creating specials that follow a pattern— there's less for the player to remember.

IMHO specials that only add a little flavor, but don't have a significant effect on a planet, aren't really worth the player's attention. I fear that specials that only give out a +3 will have little appreciable effect. But that can't really be determined until it's possible to play with and observe specials.

I don't catagorically object to specials that combine more than one bonus/malus, but i do think the more complicated the effects are, the more intuitive they should be. Unfortunately all your new specials (except "TECHTONIC_INSTABILITY") failed the eleazar-obviousness test. I tried to guess what effects the new specials would have from the title, and was never close. For some i still don't see a connection between the title and the effect. Perhaps a blurb would improve this.


I also notice that none of the specials have anything that regulates their frequency relative to other specials. If this yet isn't possible, it should be inclued in the future.
Geoff the Medio wrote:
eleazar wrote:• If Gaian worlds cannot be built, i propose "Gaian" becomes a rare special, rather than a planet type, because it's dumb for the lava-monster empire to be most at home on a Gaian planet that looks like earth.
Gaia planets as a concept need some discussion, but that probably needs its own thread, or should be in one about planet environment types...
My take on better implementing Gaian planets. Though i could restate it in a new topic if there's a reason to.

EDIT: if temporary statuses (like starvation) are no longer specials, i recommend that planets only be allowed 1 special. Besides the simplicity, it eliminates the possibility of having multiple specials that wholly or partially cancel each other out.

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#4 Post by marhawkman »

About the Gaia thing..... You could make it so that when the planet finishes terraforming to your "ideal" it goes one step further to create a world that is better than what you would normally consider "ideal". I like the idea of Gaia having a distinctive appearance though. Maybe apply some sort of pallette effect to defferentiate what type it is currently? This would use the current picture for Gaia, but change it's colors to indicate what the planet has turned itself into.

As for displays of specials.... isn't that going to be part of the (eventual) function for double clicking on a planet?

As for variety of specials.... :D that's one of MoO3's good points. it had quite a few that were very interesting. But an equally large number that were too temporary to be useful. I can post a list later.


BTW.... The special that makes the planet bigger.... It seems like it'd be best if the increase was proportional to the size of the planet.

Say... between 1 and the size of the planet *2....
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#5 Post by eleazar »

marhawkman wrote:About the Gaia thing.....
I like the idea of Gaia having a distinctive appearance though. Maybe apply some sort of pallette effect to defferentiate what type it is currently? This would use the current picture for Gaia, but change it's colors to indicate what the planet has turned itself into.
I started a new thread for Gaian planets to keep things orderly. But a palette effect would not be sufficient.
marhawkman wrote:As for displays of specials.... isn't that going to be part of the (eventual) function for double clicking on a planet?
Probably, but specials are important enough that you shouldn't have to click on every planet in a system to find them.
marhawkman wrote:As for variety of specials.... :D that's one of MoO3's good points. it had quite a few that were very interesting. But an equally large number that were too temporary to be useful. I can post a list later.
That list would be intersting.

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Re: Planetary Specials role-call

#6 Post by Geoff the Medio »

eleazar wrote:I also would prefer it if things like starvation were not specials. What do we call them, "Statuses"?
Does it need to be called anything? If a planet has insufficient food to feed its population, some population will die. We can create a sitrep about this so the player is reminded, but does anything else need to happen to the planet itself?
The attention grabber is good, but i don't see how it's "more appropriate."
The point is that specials are semi-permanent, and don't need attention-grabbers, as long as they're indicated somewhere (eg. on the sidepanel). Instead, attention-grabbers would be more appropriate for sitrep entries, which exist for one turn (though can be repeated next turn).
I fear that specials that only give out a +3 will have little appreciable effect. But that can't really be determined until it's possible to play with and observe specials.
You may be right about mere +3 effects, but you're also right that we can change them if they're found to be irrelivant. I haven't gotten a good sense of how big effects should be from specials, techs, buildings, etc. independent of or dependent on focus settings or other factors, and how these should change over the course of a game (eg. early techs presumably give smaller bonuses than late-game techs)...
I don't catagorically object to specials that combine more than one bonus/malus, but i do think the more complicated the effects are, the more intuitive they should be. Unfortunately all your new specials (except "TECHTONIC_INSTABILITY") failed the eleazar-obviousness test. I tried to guess what effects the new specials would have from the title, and was never close. For some i still don't see a connection between the title and the effect. Perhaps a blurb would improve this.
Already written, in the stringtable. Skip down to the lines after "HOMEWORLD_SPECIAL".

Most of the ones I included were relating to physical properties of the planet or its orbit. These aren't the best for clarity of function from name alone. If you have ideas for what they should do, feel free to suggest them...

In future, we can have more obvious types of specials. I'm quite keen on having specials be the means by which we grant access to civ-like strategic resources, for example, which would have a clearer in-game consequence. Some possibilities:
* Scenic Environment - boosts trade (via tourism)
* Passivity Fungus - that prevents civil unrest (but isn't an exportable strategic resource)
* Rejuventic Radiation - that boosts health (is it necessary to specify where the radiation comes from?)
* Metal-leaching Crystals - that boost mining (ala tiberium)

Note that all the physical properties specials are fairly scientific and dry, whereas "Passivity Fungus" is quite tongue in cheek. The latter style is quite more freeing in terms of possible specials and the technobabble that can support them, but I'm not sure if it's best to go that route.
I also notice that none of the specials have anything that regulates their frequency relative to other specials. If this yet isn't possible, it should be inclued in the future.
I suppose planet specials could be broken up in the file into subsections for specials of different frequencies. Alternatively specials themselves could be given a numerical frequency parameter, though this is a bit awkward, as only the planet specials would use this information, while adding such a parameter to the definition of a special would probably require all specials to have one, even if it made no sense to do so. This isn't really a priority though. You could add a feature request.
EDIT: if temporary statuses (like starvation) are no longer specials, i recommend that planets only be allowed 1 special. Besides the simplicity, it eliminates the possibility of having multiple specials that wholly or partially cancel each other out.
If you mean to put at most one special on each planet at the start of the game, this already happens.

If you mean to hard-code that a planet can only ever have at most one special, that would be impractical and is unnecessary.
* Specials can do things other than give bonuses to meters, perhaps such as the above resources possibility.
* There are effects that can add specials, and having to deal with a hard one-special limit would be a lot more complicated than the occasional multi-specialed planet.
* So what if there's a planet that gets two or three specials altering it's meters, possibly counteracting eachother? This isn't really that complicated, particularly given the numerous other effects from techs and buildings and focus settings, etc. that all alter planet meters.

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#7 Post by marhawkman »

Erm.. What did you think of the modification to the cave special?

I like the hostile life idea myself, give some planets native lifeforms that don't agree with alien species. Maybe make them only have adverse reactions to dissimilar species.
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#8 Post by eleazar »

Some of these specials (axial tilt, tidal lock) would be much cooler if they could somehow trigger the planets to display the appropriate feature. But as i've said before i hope the way that planets are assigned their visible attributes is eventually overhauled and made more powerful. There are already enough variables that allowing each one to appear would require a prohibitively long list. And additional graphics will surely be added.

Also a lot of the specials i can think of don't make sense with every Planet type. Is it possible to make specials occur only for certain planet types, and be destroyed if you terraform beyond it's limits?

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#9 Post by Geoff the Medio »

eleazar wrote:Some of these specials (axial tilt, tidal lock) would be much cooler if they could somehow trigger the planets to display the appropriate feature.
I've been keen on this myself, though it may be somewhat awkward to set up specials altering planet appearance. Instead though, things like axial tilt and rotation speed could be inherent properties of planets, just like environment type and size, and not specials at all. This is rather low priority, however, and treating such properties as specials is a reasonable solution until the time that the relevant modifications can be made.
Also a lot of the specials i can think of don't make sense with every Planet type. Is it possible to make specials occur only for certain planet types, and be destroyed if you terraform beyond it's limits?
There could be location conditions added to specials, similar to building location conditions, but this also isn't very high priority. A somewhat kludgy workaround would be to give a special an effect that removes the special from a planet if the planet is of the wrong environment type.

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#10 Post by eleazar »

Geoff the Medio wrote:I've been keen on this myself, though it may be somewhat awkward to set up specials altering planet appearance.
Some planned or semi-planned features will require it (city lights, battle damage). But a more flexable version is in the "nice" not "neccesary" catagory. But with it we could do specials like these:
Beautiful Rings: A really nice set of rings that increase trade.
Fractured World: A world that was nearly cracked apart by and asteroid, and thus has a rift to the core. Big plus to mining, negative to infrastructure. (this could be done as an overlay.)
Probiotic Atmosphere: (for tiny or small non-barrent worlds only) This planet has a thick living atmosphere that is hostile to most pathogens. Plus to health.
Geoff the Medio wrote:Instead though, things like axial tilt and rotation speed could be inherent properties of planets, just like environment type and size, and not specials at all. This is rather low priority, however, and treating such properties as specials is a reasonable solution until the time that the relevant modifications can be made.
Huh? Why would axial tilt, and rotation become inherent properties of a planet when obvious, more important planetary qualties have been rejected, like gravity and temperature? Or do i misunderstand your meaning?


for comparison Moo2 Specials:
Edit: List removed. It would probably be best to avoid pouring over the precise details of the MoOs. I'm sure we can do better than MoO2's specials anyway.



I like the idea of having a few specials that provide a 1 time bonus for new colonies. Presumably after applying the bonus the special deletes itself?
Last edited by eleazar on Sat Dec 16, 2006 5:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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#11 Post by Geoff the Medio »

eleazar wrote:Why would axial tilt, and rotation become inherent properties of a planet when obvious, more important planetary qualties have been rejected, like gravity and temperature?
Gravity is covered by size, and temperature is included in the environment type; they haven't been rejected, but rather have been subsumed into other classifications. Axial tilt and rotation speed are separate independent qualities... You could have a hightly tilted terran planet, or an untilted terran planet... both are still terran. You couldn't have a very hot terran planet or a very cold terran planet, because terran planets have a rather small range of possible temperatures.
I like the idea of having a few specials that provide a 1 time bonus for new colonies. Presumably after applying the bonus the special deletes itself?
Or it can remain, inactive. Conditions can check whether a potential target has a special, and there could be some effects that only target planets with a particular special on them, or buildings that can only be built on planets with a particular special, so having otherwise useless specials stick around might be interesting.

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#12 Post by marhawkman »

Geoff the Medio wrote:
eleazar wrote:Some of these specials (axial tilt, tidal lock) would be much cooler if they could somehow trigger the planets to display the appropriate feature.
I've been keen on this myself, though it may be somewhat awkward to set up specials altering planet appearance. Instead though, things like axial tilt and rotation speed could be inherent properties of planets, just like environment type and size, and not specials at all. This is rather low priority, however, and treating such properties as specials is a reasonable solution until the time that the relevant modifications can be made
For axial tilt you could simply change the angle the picture is displayed at. Rotation speed could be the speed at which the planet's picture rotates at.
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#13 Post by eleazar »

marhawkman wrote:
Geoff the Medio wrote:
eleazar wrote:Some of these specials (axial tilt, tidal lock) would be much cooler if they could somehow trigger the planets to display the appropriate feature.
I've been keen on this myself, though it may be somewhat awkward to set up specials altering planet appearance. Instead though, things like axial tilt and rotation speed could be inherent properties of planets, just like environment type and size, and not specials at all. This is rather low priority, however, and treating such properties as specials is a reasonable solution until the time that the relevant modifications can be made
For axial tilt you could simply change the angle the picture is displayed at. Rotation speed could be the speed at which the planet's picture rotates at.
Naturally.
But the mechanism by which the game assigns specials has no connection with the way it it displays the planets. That's the problem.

EDIT:
geoff wrote:Gravity is covered by size, and temperature is included in the environment type; they haven't been rejected, but rather have been subsumed into other classifications. Axial tilt and rotation speed are separate independent qualities
This actually is off topic. If you want to start/revive a thread on it, i'll argue with you there.

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#14 Post by eleazar »

Here are some additional specials. I tried to keep them pretty straightforward and obvious, though a couple are more colorful. I also incorporated a few already existing specials to show how they fit with similar ones.

Also it's impossible to say what numeric values will acutally provide a "small, moderate, or large" bonus.
For now i'm guessing: small=3, moderate=5, large=10.

EDIT: added quite a few items to this list, and some modifications.

One Time Specials:

Abandoned Colony:
An unknown race once attempted to build a colony here. They are gone and have left no records, but many of their structures remain.
+ Moderate bonus to infrastructure.

Frontier Colony:
Some of your citizens have broken away and attempted to set up a colony on their own. It hasn't gone well, and they seek to return to your empire.
+ Small bonus to population

Battlefield:
A battle was once fought here, and many mines, traps, and dangers remain. It will take some time before living here is safe.
- Moderate malus to health

Normal Planetary Specials

Indigene Specials:

Pre-sentient (Racename) Indigenes:
A race of beings on the edge of sentience lives on this planet. They may be an asset to your empire, or a nusance.
• allows, Study, Uplift, Exploitation, and Extermination.

Sentient (Racename) Indigenes:
A large but technologically primitive civilization has been formed by the inhabitants of this planet.
• allows, Study, Offer Citizenship, Exploitation, and Extermination.

Health, Growth, & Populations Specials:

Scorched Earth:
A powerful race once destroyed this world. An exotic radiation still emanates from the surface. All living things and machines are gradually harmed.
- Moderate malus to farming
- Moderate malus to health
- Moderate malus to max population

Hot Zone:
Local pathogens mutate at an accelerated rate. Outbreaks of new epidemics are common.
- Moderate malus to health
- Small malus to max population

Fertile:
Conditions are just right for life on this planet. Terraforming destroys this special.
+ Moderate bonus to max farming
+ Moderate bonus to max population.

Pro-biotic Atmosphere: (for tiny or small non-barrent worlds only)
The unique conditions of this planet support a thick atmosphere of organisms that are hostile to most pathogens.
+ Moderate bonus to health.

Artificial Planet:
Though superficially normal, this planet was formed artificially through some unknown extraordinary process. This planet's unique origin makes it much easier to terraform. Also, scientists are eager to attempt to solve this mystery.
+ Moderate bonus to terraforming
+ Small bonus to max science

Gaian World:
Gaia worlds are, despite the name, not exclusively paradise for Terran dwellers. They are sentient planets designed by long-forgotten ancient creators to reshape themselves to the whims of their inhabitants. Exceedingly rare, extremely valuable-- some cultures worship Gaian planets as gods.
+ Automatic Terraforming (1 step per turn)
+ Optimal rating.

— after landing a Gaian world, there is a 33% chance to discover it is one of these subtypes:

Guarded Gaian World:
This Gaian World, not only nutures, but also protects. It will attack your colonists until it accepts you as the new inhabitants.
- Generates robotic ground troops for between 1-5 turns that attack new colonists.
+ Generates robotic ground troops to help repell invaders.

Assertive Gaian World:
The same systems that control the weather, also enforce a garden-like appearance everywhere. Mining and Inudstry will be strongly curtailed.
- Large malus to max Mining
- Moderate malus to max Industry

Mineral, or Industrial Specials:

Devourer Nanites:
This planet is saturated with a swarm of nanties that break down exposed sources of most minerals into componant atoms. Mining and Industry are extremely dificult.
- Large malus to max Mining
- Large malus to max Industry

Despoiled Minerals:
Many of the useful minerals have been removed from this planet's crust by an unknown force.
- Large malus to max mining

Mineral Deficiency:
This planet has fewer useful mineral resources.
- Moderate malus to max mining

Mineral Rich:
This planet is idea for mining.
+ Moderate bonus to max mining.

Exotic Minerals: (changed from Exotic Elements)
Heavy elements are unusually abundant here.
+ Large bonus to max mining.

Nanite Replicators:
Large portions of this planet are filled with a nanite haze. These nanites can be induced to replicate many items if provided the proper raw materials. However they make much of the planet uninhabitable.
+ Large bonus to max industry.
- Moderate malus to max population (changed from Large)

Science Specials:

Featureless Planet:
This planet is extremely monotonous. There is nothing here to excite curiousity or an interest in science.
- Small malus to science.

Unique Life-forms:
Some creatures indigenous to this planet are unlike life found anywhere else.
+ Small bonus to max science.

Ancient Ruins:
This planet holds the ruins of an advanced ancient race, who have been forgotten by history.
+ Moderate bonus to max science

Ancient Library:
This planet shelters ancient records from a powerful, but forgotten race. Translating the whole of this treasure will take generations.
+ Large bonus to max science
Last edited by eleazar on Sun Mar 18, 2007 5:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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#15 Post by marhawkman »

eleazar wrote:
marhawkman wrote:
Geoff the Medio wrote: I've been keen on this myself, though it may be somewhat awkward to set up specials altering planet appearance. Instead though, things like axial tilt and rotation speed could be inherent properties of planets, just like environment type and size, and not specials at all. This is rather low priority, however, and treating such properties as specials is a reasonable solution until the time that the relevant modifications can be made
For axial tilt you could simply change the angle the picture is displayed at. Rotation speed could be the speed at which the planet's picture rotates at.
Naturally.
But the mechanism by which the game assigns specials has no connection with the way it it displays the planets. That's the problem.
who said it had to STAY that way?

Oh and here's the MoO3 list:
===================================================
8: SPECIALS
===================================================
ABANDONED COLONY
At one time, this was the site of a colony that belonged to your race. It is still habitable, though there is no sign of what happened to the previous colonists.

Increases Recreation DEA Efficiency by 10%

Chance of Finding a Small Colony is 50
Chance of Finding a Medium Colony is 35
Chance of Finding a Large Colony is 15
Cost Multiplier for Buildings in Medium Colony is 2
Cost Multiplier for Buildings in Large Colony is 4
Increases AUs in the Treasury by between 1000 and 2500

ACTIVE VOLCANOES
An unusual amount of volcanic activity exists on this planet. These increase the cost of Terraforming this planet considerably.

Increases Planetary Terraforming Cost by between 5% and 70%

CAVERNOUS
This planet has a series of large, inhabitable caves underground. This allows for more colonists to live there as well as providing some additional defense in combat.

Increases Maximum Population by 1
Increases Ground Combat Fortification Value by 2

CONTRABAND

A contraband pharmaceutical can be found here. Each turn, it generates extra income for the owner of the planet.

Increases AUs in the Treasury by between 5 and 50

Number of Turns until Depletion of this Special is Infinity

ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY
The high amount of electrical activity on this planet requires many additional safeguards for any industry to take place here. As a result, most buildings are more expensive here.

Decreases Mine DEA Efficiency by 15%
Decreases Bioharvest DEA Efficiency by 10%
Decreases Military DEA Efficiency by 20%
Decreases Spaceport DEA Efficiency by 35%

HOSTILE MICROBES
A region of this planet is infested with hostile microbes. The microbes severely limit population growth. Safety precautions and filters make all building more expensive here.

Increases Building Construction Cost by between 50% and 150%
Increases Building Maintenance Cost by between 50% and 150%
Decreases Manufacturing DEA Efficiency by 15%
Decreases Research DEA Efficiency by 55%
Decreases Population Growth Rate by 67%
Decreases Military DEA Efficiency by 25%
Decreases Recreation DEA Efficiency by 90%

AU Cost to remove this Special is between 900 and 4000
Terraforming Cost to remove this Special is 1

HOSTILE INSECT LIFE
A region of this planet is infested with hostile insects. These insects severely limit population growth. Safety precautions and filters make all building more expensive here.

Increases Manufacturing DEA Efficiency by between 10% and 70%
Increases Mine DEA Efficiency by between 10% and 70%
Decreases Bioharvest DEA Efficiency by 40%
Decreases Research DEA Efficiency by 10%
Decreases Recreation DEA Efficiency by 60%
Decreases Population Growth Rate by 40%

AU Cost to remove this Special is between 400 and 1500
Terraforming Cost to remove this Special is 1

HOSTILE ANIMAL LIFE
A region of this planet is infested with small hostile animals. These animals are predatory in nature and reduce population growth somewhat.

Decreases Population Growth Rate by 20%
Decreases Recreation DEA Efficiency by 30%
Decreases Bioharvest DEA Efficiency by 10%

AU Cost to remove this Special is between 200 and 700
Terraforming Cost to remove this Special is 1

LARGE HOSTILE ANIMALS
A region of this planet is infested with large hostile animals. These animals are predatory in nature and reduce population growth somewhat.

Decreases Bioharvest DEA Efficiency by 15%

AU Cost to remove this Special is between 350 and 1700
Military Building Cost is 1

HUGE HOSTILE ANIMALS
A region of this planet is infested with huge hostile animals. These animals are predatory in nature and reduce population growth somewhat.

Decreases Bioharvest DEA Efficiency by 20%
Increases Recreation DEA Efficiency by 15%

AU Cost to remove this Special is between 600 and 2200
Military Building Cost is 1

HOSTILE FLORA
A region of this planet is covered with hostile plant life. These plants grow wildly and are deleterious to all known life forms. Population growth rate as well as industry and research are negatively affected by this.

Decreases Bioharvest DEA Efficiency by 30%
Decreases Manufacturing DEA Efficiency by 10%
Decreases Research DEA Efficiency by 15%
Decreases Recreation DEA Efficiency by 15%
Decreases Population Growth Rate by 15%

AU Cost to remove this Special is between 200 and 2800
Terraforming Cost to remove this Special is 1

HOSTILE MINERAL DEPOSITS
A region of this planet is covered with a highly toxic chemical deposit. Until cleaned up, this will greatly reduce Industry, research and population grown in this region.

Decreases Mine DEA Efficiency by 40%
Decreases Manufacturing DEA Efficiency by 25%
Decreases Research DEA Efficiency by 20%

AU Cost to remove this Special is between 1200 and 4700
Terraforming Cost to remove this Special is 1

NATURAL WELLS
Natural wellsprings exist in abundance on this planet, raising the morale of the populace. In addition, the planet is easier to Terraform then would otherwise be the case.

Decreases Planetary Terraforming Cost by between 40% and 5%
Increases Recreation DEA Efficiency by 10%

THRIVING ECOSYSTEM
The abundance of flora and fauna on this planet has resulted in a veritable cornucopia effect. Bioharvesting in this region is greatly improved.

Increases Bioharvest DEA Capacity by 1

NATURAL WONDERS
A series of natural formations exist in this region. Colonists here tend to be happier as a result.

Increases Recreation DEA Efficiency by 1

PHARMACOPOEIA
This region has an unusual amount of rare plants useful in various medical treatments. As a result, population tends to be healthier and more productive here, as well as simply living longer.

Increases Bioharvest DEA Capacity by 0.5
Increases Research DEA Efficiency by 45%
Increases Spaceport DEA Efficiency by 10%
Increases Population Growth Rate by 25%
POLLUTION
A region of this planet is covered with ancient pollution. Until cleaned up, population growth will be dramatically decreased.

Decreases Population Growth Rate by between 80% and 20%

AU Cost to remove this Special is between 350 and 3000
Terraforming Cost to remove this Special is 1

RARE ANIMALS
A wide array of rare and unusual animals can be found in this region, increasing research efficiency. Trade revenue is increased as well.

Increases Spaceport DEA Efficiency by 25%
Increases Research DEA Efficiency by 35%
Increases Recreation DEA Efficiency by 10%

Number of Turns until Depletion of this Special is between 100 and 600

RARE FUELS
Rare fuel types can be found in this region, increasing research efficiency. Trade revenue is increased as well.

Increases Spaceport DEA Efficiency by 35%
Increases Research DEA Efficiency by 30%

Number of Turns until Depletion of this Special is between 20 and 125

RARE GEMS
Several rare and very pure crystals can be found in this region, making it ideal for research. Trade revenue is increased as well.

Increases Spaceport DEA Efficiency by 65%
Increases Research DEA Efficiency by 5%

Number of Turns until Depletion of this Special is between 10 and 75

RARE METALS
Several sources of extremely rare metals can be found in this region, which makes research more efficient. Trade revenue is increased as well.

Increases Spaceport DEA Efficiency by 20%
Increases Research DEA Efficiency by 20%

Number of Turns until Depletion of this Special is between 25 and 150

RARE PETROCHEMICALS
Rare fuel types can be found in this region, increasing research efficiency. Trade revenue is increased as well.

Increases Spaceport DEA Efficiency by 40%
Decreases Bioharvest DEA Efficiency by 1
Increases Manufacturing DEA Efficiency by 20%
Increases Research DEA Efficiency by 10%

Number of Turns until Depletion of this Special is between 15 and 100

RARE PLANTS
Rare plants types can be found in this region, increasing research efficiency. Trade revenue is increased as well.

Increases Spaceport DEA Efficiency by 30%
Increases Manufacturing DEA Efficiency by 10%
Increases Research DEA Efficiency by 40%

Number of Turns until Depletion of this Special is Infinity

RARE RADIOACTIVES
Rare radioactives types can be found in this region, increasing research efficiency. Trade revenue is increased as well.

Increases Spaceport DEA Efficiency by 30%
Decreases Bioharvest DEA Efficiency by 1
Decreases Population Growth Rate by 50%
Increases Research DEA Efficiency by 30%
Increases Manufacturing DEA Efficiency by 25%

Number of Turns until Depletion of this Special is between 10 and 150

FORCED LABOR
A source for Forced labor can be found on this region.

RANDOM TECHNOLOGY
A random technology can be found here.
Duration of this Event in Turns is 1

RESCUED LEADER
A leader has been marooned on this planet and will join your civilization if you find him or her 1st.

Duration of this Event in Turns is 1

RANDOM RESEARCH
A cache of stored research data has been found here. Twenty-five research points will be added at this planet for a short duration.

Increases Current Research Efficiency by between 5 and 50

REPAIRABLE STRUCTURES
A series of repairable structures are located here, reducing the cost of building by 25%.

Decreases Building Construction Cost by 25%

Number of Turns until Depletion of this Special is between 5 and 25

PIRATES STASH
A cache of gold, jewels and other valuables have been found here. These have been converted to AUs and the funds added to your treasury.

Increases AUs in the Treasury by between 50 and 500

RARE APHRODISIAC
A rare Aphrodisiac exists here and will increase the planets population growth rate for a short time.

Increases Population Growth Rate by 100%

Number of Turns until Depletion of this Special is between 3 and 18

DATA CACHE
A cache of stored research data has been found here. Twenty-five research points will be added at this planet for a short duration.

Increases Current Research Points by 25

Number of Turns until Depletion of this Special is between 8 and 40

ARCHEOLOGICAL RUINS
This region holds the ruins of an ancient city constructed by one of the following Races; Gnolam, Elerian, Mrrshan, Bulrathi or Darlok.

Increases Current Research Efficiency by 5

Number of Turns until Depletion of this Special is between 10 and 15

DARLOK GUARDIAN
Your explorations have uncovered the devastated system of Nazin, once home to the people of the Darlok empire. A Guardian of the New Orions now occupies the system to keep curiosity-seekers at bay.

BULRATHI GUARDIAN
Your Task Forces have arrived at the remains of the Ursa system. This once-proud home of the Bulrathi now lies in ruin, with a Guardian of the New Orions standing watch and destroying those who would dare to come here.

MRRSHAN GUARDIAN
Task Forces report the discovery of the shattered Fieras system, rumored to have been the home system of the Mrrshan civilization. A Guardian of the New Orions now prowls within its bounds, striking swiftly at intruders.

ELERIAN GUARDIAN
You have stumbled upon the ruined system of Draconis, which legends say was the seat of the vast empire of the Elerians. Now a hollow, smoldering shell of its former glory, a lethal Guardian of the New Orions moves between the worlds of the system, searching for trespassers.

ALKARI GUARDIAN
The scattered, broken hulls drifting through Altair reveal that you have discovered the lost home system of the proud Alkari fleet. Now, the only active ship in the system is a Guardian of the New Orions, a reminder of what happens to those who dare to oppose their power.

ANCIENT BATTLE DAMAGE
This planet was heavily damaged during some ancient battle. Battle damage is cheaper to repair than standard Terraforming, allowing this planet to be terraformed for less than is normal.

Decreases Terraforming Value by between 90% and 20%

ECCENTRIC ORBIT
This planet has an extremely elliptical orbit, giving the planet an exceptionally large seasonal disparity. As a result, it costs considerably more to Terraform the planet and Bioharvesting is difficult in the extreme.

Increases Planetary Terraforming Cost by between 20% and 100%
Decreases Bioharvest DEA Efficiency by 75%

ENTRAPPING ECOSYSTEM
Visitors to this planet must take extreme precautions against the environment, not because it is toxic, but due to retro-virii that force the body to become dependant on substances only found on this planet. This greatly reduces Trade.

Decreases Government DEA Efficiency by 15%
Decreases Recreation DEA Efficiency by 95%
Decreases Spaceport DEA Efficiency by 90%

ERRATIC WEATHER
The highly erratic weather patterns on this planet make Bioharvesting particularly difficult.

Decreases Bioharvest DEA Efficiency by between 75% and 25%
AU Cost to remove this Special is between 350 and 900
Terraforming Cost to remove this Special is 1

GEOMAGNETIC FIELDS
This planet has very strong magnetic fields. These fields interfere with research and manufacturing, reducing both considerably.

Decreases Planetary Terraforming Cost by between 25% and 1%
Increases Population Growth Rate by 10%
Decreases Manufacturing DEA Efficiency by 20%
Decreases Research DEA Efficiency by 50%
Decreases Military DEA Efficiency by 15%

GLOBAL STORMS
Huge, powerful storms rage across this planet constantly. Costs for building and maintaining structures here are greatly increased while Bioharvesting is greatly reduced.

Increases Building Maintenance Cost by between 10% and 200%
Increases Building Construction Cost by between 10% and 200%
Decreases Bioharvest DEA Efficiency by 50%

STRATOSPHERE RING
This planet has large rings around its equator. The rings reduce Bioharvest slightly, but the rings are an excellent tourist attraction and offer some research benefits as well.

Increases Bioharvest DEA Capacity by 0.75
Decreases Research DEA Efficiency by 50%
Increases Recreation DEA Efficiency by 15%

HOSTILE GASES
The atmosphere of this planet has significant amounts of toxins. This reduces the efficiency of almost all aspects of life here.

Increases Building Maintenance Cost by between 50% and 150%
Increases Building Construction Cost by between 50% and 150%
Decreases Manufacturing DEA Efficiency by 10%
Decreases Research DEA Efficiency by 10%
Decreases Population Growth Rate by 30%
Decreases Military DEA Efficiency by 5%

AU Cost to remove this Special is between 600 and 2200
Terraforming Cost to remove this Special is 1

RAPID ROT
A large amount of corrosive material is in the atmosphere on this planet, increasing the cost to build and maintain structures.

Increases Building Maintenance Cost by between 20% and 200%
Increases Building Construction Cost by between 20% and 200%

SENTIENT PLANET
The life forms on this planet all share a collective mind and greatly resent outside life forms. This reduces morale and governing efficiency dramatically.

Decreases Government DEA Efficiency by 20%
Decreases Recreation DEA Efficiency by 75%

SPLINTER COLONY
A lost colony of your race! They are ecstatic to be reconnected to your empire.
Maximum Population is between 1.5 and 3

NOTE: In the actual production version of MoO3 they merged the Splinter and Magnate specials why? The original version(the one in this document) would often spawn races on planets that were totally unsuitable for them. thus they made a last minute change and spawned a single special. The actual species of the colony was determined by the type of planet it spawned on. Thus a Tachidi race would see a population of Tachidi as a splinter colony, but a Terran race would see them as a magnate civilization. Irregardless of who gets to the planet first the size, location, and race of the planetary population is fixed at the start of the game.
Computer programming is fun.

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