(Mod) AMPS Development Thread

[CorinaMarie 29,578]

41 minutes ago, RobertaME said:

I'm thinking that inside the game I'm going to use the Company name "Allied Municipal Power of Simtropolis", and just "Allied Municipal Power" for short in a few places, but the mod will remain being called Allied Modern Power of Simtropolis... unless there are any objections. I'm thinking it sounds more "company-ish" to my ear.

I believe it's perfectly fine to change the M to be Municipal in the very same way the original suggestion of Adjusted became Allied. I also fully believe you need not get the approval of anyone to make the change to Municipal.

[Simizen 1,088]

Municipal works better than Modern. I had been thinking something seemed off, but, couldn't place it. But, I guess it was the Modern part that was the issue for me. And, at that, obviously not that big since I didn't care to comment about it before. Either works for me, it is your mod after all.

[RobertaME 1,376]

1 hour ago, CorinaMarie said:

I believe it's perfectly fine to change the M to be Municipal in the very same way the original suggestion of Adjusted became Allied. I also fully believe you need not get the approval of anyone to make the change to Municipal.

I know I don't HAVE to get everyone's permission... I just would LIKE it. I value the opinion of everyone involved in this project very much. Most especially yours in this case as Adjusted Modern Power of Simtropolis was originally YOUR idea... and I don't want to seem to be just tossing the whole thing away piecemeal by first changing to Allied and then to Municipal. The LAST thing I want to do is to offend ANYONE... and the question seemed the best way to keep that from happening accidentally. :^)

Still and all, THANK YOU for letting me know! :^)

30 minutes ago, Ryuu Tenno said:

Municipal works better than Modern. I had been thinking something seemed off, but, couldn't place it. But, I guess it was the Modern part that was the issue for me. And, at that, obviously not that big since I didn't care to comment about it before. Either works for me, it is your mod after all.

Thanks for the input! And I consider this mod to be as much belonging to all the contributors as to myself. @Simmer2's awesome lots inspired the whole thing to begin with, @Kloudkicker knocked himself out getting me the core pieces, the transformers, put together, @CorinaMarie helped me to understand the way the game uses LUA packages, and EVERYONE helped tighten up and improve on the queries, features, ideas, and generally making this mod into what it is now.

I couldn't have done it without ANY of you all! So it's as much YOURS as it is mine or anyone here. :^)

There's still a bit of work left to do, but it's coming all together very nicely, thanks to everyone's help!

::going off to have a good cry and sleep::

[Cyclone Boom 16,854]

It's great the way you're going about this, combined with everyone's input.

My thought is consistency might go well for the project name. So this way it could be either "Municipal" or "Modern" as part of the AMPS acronym, and to use this throughout for queries and menus (and anywhere). This would associate back and leave no doubt how each instance refers to the same.

I do especially like the way how AMPS rather says what it does on the tin really for being electricity themed.

[Simmer2 23,785]

@RobertaME I made the last lot as an eye candy but with the occupancy group under the power menu so it shows there. Since it is going to be a 1 time plop per tile I will leave it as ploppable. Now for the sake of adaptability should I leave it as an eye candy lot or would you like it to be functional? (power output? Jobs?)

I believe the regional repository was an eye candy lot and since this one will have similar functions it should be as well.

Also as you can see I made it with the "AMPS" sign therefore the name of the mod should be structured to generate the same AMPS acronym. (French physicist and mathematician André-Marie Ampère would be happy)

Suggestions are welcome.

Simmer2

PS a semi industrial looking electrical power company maintenance lot in also in the works.

[RobertaME 1,376]

1 hour ago, Cyclone Boom said:

It's great the way you're going about this, combined with everyone's input.

My thought is either way consistency might go well for the project name. So this way it could be either "Municipal" or "Modern" as part of the AMPS acronym, and to use this throughout for queries and menus (and anywhere). This would associate back and leave no doubt how each instance refers to the same.

I do especially like the way how AMPS rather says what it does on the tin really for being electricity themed.

Thanks! I guess it's really for the best. AMPS does really tell someone what the gist of the mod is without even looking it up.

Thanks for your suggestion regarding consistency. :^)

10 minutes ago, Simmer2 said:

@RobertaME I made the last lot as an eye candy but with the occupancy group under the power menu so it shows there. Since it is going to be a 1 time plop per tile I will leave it as ploppable. Now for the sake of adaptability should I leave it as an eye candy lot or would you like it to be functional? (power output? Jobs?)

I believe the regional repository was an eye candy lot and since this one will have similar functions it should be as well.

It looks great! A little bigger than I was thinking, and a little TOO rustic, (I was hoping for something that would fit in both an American rural town or a German/Swiss/etc. architectural style... but given my utter lack of artistic skills, beggars can't be choosers! :^Þ ) but the way I have it worked out now all that has to be done to make it integrate is add the Occupant Group assigned to "Power Company Font Office" and it will be recognized as such... but I can do all that in the support side of things. I'll also have to have the mod turn it into a reward lot using the City Exclusion Group so it locks out other Front Offices when you build it and is likewise locked out with the building of any other Front Office the player might have installed. I've never done that before, so I'll have to learn how it works.

No worries though, the Alpha-2 isn't ready to support the add-on buildings anyway... the query is nowhere near finished. In the interim, the exiting buildings can give the player all the information they need, it's just spread out over half a dozen different building types.

So as far as what your lot does WITHOUT the mod installed, that's entirely up to you. Once I'm ready to integrate it, I'll look at assigning appropriate Jobs based in size and purpose, but it won't generate power or anything like that.

One thing I was hoping for feedback on when I brought up the idea was the Options I tacked on after each building type, but unfortunately they seemed to have gotten overlooked. For the Front Office, I was thinking it would provide Landmark/Park effects similar to the Mayor's House. Thoughts on that are welcome, if anyone has any better ideas. (unfortunately I can't make it "discount" the maintenance costs of the grid...that's simply outside the boundaries of what I can do)

Once you post up your lot on the STEX @Simmer2, I'll link to it as a "supported lot" similar to the one @Kloudkicker put up once he puts it up on the STEX. That way people can chose which ones they want to have, if any. (all the add-on buildings are optional content for the mod... I don't intend on making any of them a dependency... just choices!)

45 minutes ago, Simmer2 said:

Also as you can see I made it with the "AMPS" sign therefore the name of the mod should be structured to generate the same AMPS acronym. (French physicist and mathematician André-Marie Ampère would be happy)

I noticed. I wonder what would have happened if SPA had done better in the poll? ;^)

Brainstorm: I can include an optional override file that will change the name of the mod in-game to Simtropolis Power Authority for anyone that wanted that name instead... that way NOBODY loses! It's just changing two Global Variables, is all! Thoughts?

48 minutes ago, Simmer2 said:

Suggestions are welcome.

I can only think of one... where do the customers park? The Front Office is for people to pay their power bill and setup/change/cancel service, just like a RL Power Company front office does. It's not really meant to be any sort of Maintenance Facility. One thing @Kloudkicker's lot has that I really like is the customer parking.

NOT trying to be picky at all... but you DID ask! ;^)

52 minutes ago, Simmer2 said:

PS a semi industrial looking electrical power company maintenance lot in also in the works.

You are a MACHINE! :^)

Update:

Just finishing up the Readme and it's ready to upload!

[Simmer2 23,785]

3 minutes ago, RobertaME said:

Thanks! I guess it's really for the best. AMPS does really tell someone what the gist of the mod is without even looking it up.

Thanks for your suggestion regarding consistency. :^)

It looks great! A little bigger than I was thinking, and a little TOO rustic, (I was hoping for something that would fit in both an American rural town or a German/Swiss/etc. architectural style... but given my utter lack of artistic skills, beggars can't be choosers! :^Þ ) but the way I have it worked out now all that has to be done to make it integrate is add the Occupant Group assigned to "Power Company Font Office" and it will be recognized as such... but I can do all that in the support side of things. I'll also have to have the mod turn it into a reward lot using the City Exclusion Group so it locks out other Front Offices when you build it and is likewise locked out with the building of any other Front Office the player might have installed. I've never done that before, so I'll have to learn how it works.

No worries though, the Alpha-2 isn't ready to support the add-on buildings anyway... the query is nowhere near finished. In the interim, the exiting buildings can give the player all the information they need, it's just spread out over half a dozen different building types.

So as far as what your lot does WITHOUT the mod installed, that's entirely up to you. Once I'm ready to integrate it, I'll look at assigning appropriate Jobs based in size and purpose, but it won't generate power or anything like that.

One thing I was hoping for feedback on when I brought up the idea was the Options I tacked on after each building type, but unfortunately they seemed to have gotten overlooked. For the Front Office, I was thinking it would provide Landmark/Park effects similar to the Mayor's House. Thoughts on that are welcome, if anyone has any better ideas. (unfortunately I can't make it "discount" the maintenance costs of the grid...that's simply outside the boundaries of what I can do)

Once you post up your lot on the STEX @Simmer2, I'll link to it as a "supported lot" similar to the one @Kloudkicker put up once he puts it up on the STEX. That way people can chose which ones they want to have, if any. (all the add-on buildings are optional content for the mod... I don't intend on making any of them a dependency... just choices!)

I noticed. I wonder what would have happened if SPA had done better in the poll? ;^)

Brainstorm: I can include an optional override file that will change the name of the mod in-game to Simtropolis Power Authority for anyone that wanted that name instead... that way NOBODY loses! It's just changing two Global Variables, is all! Thoughts?

I can only think of one... where do the customers park? The Front Office is for people to pay their power bill and setup/change/cancel service, just like a RL Power Company front office does. It's not really meant to be any sort of Maintenance Facility. One thing @Kloudkicker's lot has that I really like is the customer parking.

NOT trying to be picky at all... but you DID ask! ;^)

You are a MACHINE! :^)

Update:

Just finishing up the Readme and it's ready to upload!

I will create another building without the garage doors, just an office with parking without any power utilities paraphernalia on the lot. I still think a 2x3 lot is more realistic than a 2x2 though. Lets see what I concoct in the mean time.

Simmer2

PS regarding the mod name. Stick to the one chosen by the poll, things would get rather confusing given the choice of 2 names and it will also add far more work on my end and yours.

 

[Kloudkicker 4,561]

20 minutes ago, Simmer2 said:

I will create another building without the garage doors, just an office with parking

Since you are doing this...

1 hour ago, Simmer2 said:

PS a semi industrial looking electrical power company maintenance lot in also in the works.

(Nice building you made.) I think the first office building design would look really good for the maintenance lot. It has the right feel for it. Just a thought.

[RobertaME 1,376]

45 minutes ago, Kloudkicker said:

(Nice building you made.) I think the first office building design would look really good for the maintenance lot. It has the right feel for it. Just a thought.

I think you may have a point there...

1 hour ago, Simmer2 said:

I will create another building without the garage doors, just an office with parking without any power utilities paraphernalia on the lot. I still think a 2x3 lot is more realistic than a 2x2 though. Lets see what I concoct in the mean time.

The lot size is fine, really! I just noticed a lack of customer parking is all. It wasn't in any way intended as being critical. :^)

Maybe @Kloudkicker has a point, though. Your lot as-is looks very much like a maintenance facility. You could even expand on it to 3x3 or 3x4 or so to add more support equipment, if you like. If you want to make a front office, it doesn't HAVE to be 2x2... that was just a guideline... not meant as a hard and fast rule. I just know most power company Front Offices aren't huge affairs with lots of power equipment... they're essentially just office space. I just didn't want it looking so modern that it gets lost in the sea of other offices in the game, is all... and I thought a more "rural" look would help with that, as well as letting it fit in with various small-town concepts and alternative architectural styles.

Still, it's YOUR lot. If you like it as-is and want that to be your Front Office, then it is what it is and I'm happy to integrate it when I get to that part of the mod.

I don't want to squash anyone's creativity. I appreciate ANYTHING you all come up with! :^)

1 hour ago, Simmer2 said:

PS regarding the mod name. Stick to the one chosen by the poll, things would get rather confusing given the choice of 2 names and it will also add far more work on my end and yours.

Very well. If you object, then it will remain "Allied Modern Power of Simtropolis" for the time being.

Thank you for your input. :^)

[Simmer2 23,785]

Just now, RobertaME said:

I think you may have a point there...

The lot size is fine, really! I just noticed a lack of customer parking is all. It wasn't in any way intended as being critical. :^)

Maybe @Kloudkicker has a point, though. Your lot as-is looks very much like a maintenance facility. You could even expand on it to 3x3 or 3x4 or so to add more support equipment, if you like. If you want to make a front office, it doesn't HAVE to be 2x2... that was just a guideline... not meant as a hard and fast rule. I just know most power company Front Offices aren't huge affairs with lots of power equipment... they're essentially just office space. I just didn't want it looking so modern that it gets lost in the sea of other offices in the game, is all... and I thought a more "rural" look would help with that, as well as letting it fit in with various small-town concepts and alternative architectural styles.

Still, it's YOUR lot. If you like it as-is and want that to be your Front Office, then it is what it is and I'm happy to integrate it when I get to that part of the mod.

I don't want to squash anyone's creativity. I appreciate ANYTHING you all come up with! :^)

Very well. If you object, then it will remain "Allied Modern Power of Simtropolis" for the time being.

Thank you for your input. :^)

It can very well be "Municipal" or "Modern" as long as we get AMPS. The people have spoken anyways.

What I was referring to is the part regarding the possibility to have both SPA or AMPS as a choice. Not a good idea.

Simmer2

[CorinaMarie 29,578]

6 hours ago, RobertaME said:

Adjusted Modern Power of Simtropolis was originally YOUR idea... and I don't want to seem to be just tossing the whole thing away piecemeal by first changing to Allied and then to Municipal.

No worries here. The key aspect was the AMPS acronym itself. Changing the words for the A and the M to better reflect your vision is the ideal way to take a suggestion and build upon it.

[Kloudkicker 4,561]

These are up @RobertaME and are found here 

 

[Wiimeiser 436]

I wonder what would happen with the tutorials, since you're changing the way power plants are placed... 

 

Also, I really like the lots, definitely worth it for realism.

[Kloudkicker 4,561]

Here are the other batch of transformer lots @RobertaME. All 37 of them. Have fun, everyone 

[RobertaME 1,376]

ALPHA-2 IS HERE!!!!! Update: The working Beta is now on the STEX!

https://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/36238-amps-beta-v032/

 

Allied Municipal Power of Simtropolis.zip (depreciated)

Read Me file is included in the download, which includes the instructions, warnings, disclaimers, and legal notices.

Thanks go to @Cyclone Boom for the GORGEOUS banner!

Thoughts welcome!

Edit: Spotted a bug in the Utilities Advisor's first message to the player. Fix applied and link updated.

Edit 2: Included an old copy of Electrical.dat, so it wasn't showing the correct Manufacturer. Updated link.

Edit 3: Link to Beta Release

  Edited May 19, 2024 by RobertaME  
Beta Release Update

[Kloudkicker 4,561]

21 minutes ago, RobertaME said:

ALPHA-2 IS HERE!!!!!

Allied Municipal Power of Simtropolis.zip

Read Me file is included in the download, which includes the instructions, warnings, disclaimers, and legal notices.

Thanks go to @Cyclone Boom for the GORGEOUS banner!

Thoughts welcome!

Way to go on the banner, that is really awesome and nice of you CB! 

[RobertaME 1,376]

9 hours ago, Simmer2 said:

It can very well be "Municipal" or "Modern" as long as we get AMPS. The people have spoken anyways.

What I was referring to is the part regarding the possibility to have both SPA or AMPS as a choice. Not a good idea.

Simmer2

Thanks for clarifying! I took that into account for the Alpha-2 release.

9 hours ago, CorinaMarie said:

No worries here. The key aspect was the AMPS acronym itself. Changing the words for the A and the M to better reflect your vision is the ideal way to take a suggestion and build upon it.

Thanks! <3

---,---'---@

6 hours ago, Kloudkicker said:

These are up @RobertaME and are found here 

 

1 hour ago, Kloudkicker said:

Here are the other batch of transformer lots @RobertaME. All 37 of them. Have fun, everyone 

Thanks, @Kloudkicker! I re-did the Readme to include direct links, just like all the other supported lots!

4 hours ago, Wiimeiser said:

I wonder what would happen with the tutorials, since you're changing the way power plants are placed... 

 

Also, I really like the lots, definitely worth it for realism.

The tutorials, especially in the Alpha-2 release, will probably break if you try to use them. In the final release, I'll see about fixing them to work with the mod. :^)

7 minutes ago, Kloudkicker said:

Way to go on the banner, that is really awesome and nice of you CB! 

Gorgeous, isn't it? :^)

[Simizen 1,088]

So, I love the fact that now the AMPS has that dotted underline. And the logo is absolutely amazing. But, a question, what's the I, E, and R for in that triangle at the top?

Lol, and first thought with that was that the illuminati symbol, due to the pyramid and light bulb being so close.

Also, I feel bad, cause it's already gone on to the second version and I haven't installed all of the first as of yet They've been downloaded, but not installed.

 

Yo... is that a candle in the light bulb? cause, holy cow that detail.

Lol, and just realized, the electricity aspect in the game, still eats up more than most other resources, given that it's using real electricity to get everything to function.

[RobertaME 1,376]

57 minutes ago, Ryuu Tenno said:

But, a question, what's the I, E, and R for in that triangle at the top?

Glad you asked!

<geek girl>

When I was 10, my father taught me the basics of electronics. The first thing he taught me was Ohm's Law:

"The voltage of a circuit will be proportional to the current at any given resistance."

In electronics, voltage is expressed with the symbol E, which stands for electromotive force. Current is expressed as I which stands for current Intensity, and resistance is expressed with the symbol R. To calculate the Electromotive force of a circuit in Volts, you multiply I in amperes times R in Ohms. This creates the equation:

E = I x R

...which creates through equivalence...

E / I = R

and

E / R = I

...which is collectively referred to as Ohm's Law, named for Georg Ohm who come up with the theory.

</geek girl>

When @Cyclone Boom offered to make a logo, I asked if he could incorporate this into the design, as without my father's influence I would never have learned electronics... which is why I was able to make this mod to begin with.

Hope that explains things!

[Kloudkicker 4,561]

Someone can turn you lights off now. Pay your bills!

 

[RobertaME 1,376]

35 minutes ago, Kloudkicker said:

Someone can turn you lights off now. Pay your bills!

I love it! LOL!

The Power Company Buildings will be integrated into the Beta version. I already have most of the beck-end stuff done and integrated into the Alpha-2. All I really need to do is finish the query (which is a REAL chore) and the exclusion process so you can only have one in any city.

<begging to the thread>

PLEASE give feedback on what effects the Front Office, Maintenance Facility, Main Office, and Corporate Headquarters should have. I need a direction to go with handling these lots and would VERY much appreciate suggestions. I have a feeling that my ideas are OK, but could be better. As a reminder, here are the ideas I came up with:

Power Company Front Office: 2x2 lot; Rustic vaguely commercial appearance; Provides global data on the power grid; Limit 1 per city

   Option: Provides Landmark/Park effects similar to the Mayor's House, City Hall, etc.

   Option: Spawns Power Maintenance Trucks, similar to the Post Office lot.

Power Company Maintenance Building: 3x3 Reward lot; Modern vaguely industrial appearance; (possibly NEGATIVE Park value, like the Bureau of Bureaucracy) Provides global data on the power grid; Limit 1 per city; requires Front Office and a minimum of 1 Large Power Plant operating in the city

   Option: Increases Intermediate Load Maximum to 50% instead of 40% (or optionally, set the baseline to 30% and this brings it up to 40%) and Base Load Maximum to 70% instead of 60%. (or optionally set baseline to 50% and this increases it to 60%)

   Option: Spawns Power Maintenance Trucks, similar to the Post Office lot.

Power Company Central Office: 4x4 Reward lot; Modern Office Building; Provides global data on the power grid; Limit 1 per city; requires Maintenance Building and Power Export deals in excess of a set value.

   Option: Provides Landmark effects similar to a minor Landmark, like the California Plaza or Alamo, etc.

   Option: Works as a Business Deal Building similar to the Casino or Toxic Dump, but without the severe negative effects; giving you money to help offset the costs of grid maintenance. (not sure how much... would have to see how expensive a large grid is and then set it accordingly so that it doesn't give MORE than the grid costs)

Power Company Corporate Headquarters: 5x5 (or larger) Reward lot; Modern Office Tower; Provides global data on the power grid; Limit 1 per city; requires Central Office and Regional Population in excess of 1 million.

   Option: Provides Landmark/Park effects similar to a Major Landmark, like the Chrysler Building or Empire State Building, etc.

   Option: ??? (Suggestions welcome)

</begging to the thread>

[Kloudkicker 4,561]

3 minutes ago, RobertaME said:

Power Company Front Office: 2x2 lot; Rustic vaguely commercial appearance; Provides global data on the power grid; Limit 1 per city

   Option: Provides Landmark/Park effects similar to the Mayor's House, City Hall, etc.

   Option: Spawns Power Maintenance Trucks, similar to the Post Office lot

As far as I know, the mayors office only provides MR, being its an reward. But the others could be added. Park effect seems a little to much. Maybe the lot could add some  income, like mine does. Mine pay $15 and $10 a month. (Late fees from customers )

What post office are you referring to?

7 minutes ago, RobertaME said:

Power Company Maintenance Building: 3x3 Reward lot; Modern vaguely industrial appearance; (possibly NEGATIVE Park value, like the Bureau of Bureaucracy) Provides global data on the power grid; Limit 1 per city; requires Front Office and a minimum of 1 Large Power Plant operating in the city

   Option: Increases Intermediate Load Maximum to 50% instead of 40% (or optionally, set the baseline to 30% and this brings it up to 40%) and Base Load Maximum to 70% instead of 60%. (or optionally set baseline to 50% and this increases it to 60%)

Here I would say one large plant or two/ three small plants for one of the requirements. 

The second half is whatever you'll decide. Any good adjustment is fine with me.

18 minutes ago, RobertaME said:

Power Company Central Office: 4x4 Reward lot; Modern Office Building; Provides global data on the power grid; Limit 1 per city; requires Maintenance Building and Power Export deals in excess of a set value.

   Option: Provides Landmark effects similar to a minor Landmark, like the California Plaza or Alamo, etc.

   Option: Works as a Business Deal Building similar to the Casino or Toxic Dump, but without the severe negative effects; giving you money to help offset the costs of grid maintenance. (not sure how much... would have to see how expensive a large grid is and then set it accordingly so that it doesn't give MORE than the grid costs

More money, lots and lots of it. LOL. 

Lots of jobs! Extra income, LM effect, MR effect and make it a green office space with slight park effect. Is what I am thinking.

23 minutes ago, RobertaME said:

 Power Company Corporate Headquarters: 5x5 (or larger) Reward lot; Modern Office Tower; Provides global data on the power grid; Limit 1 per city; requires Central Office and Regional Population in excess of 1 million.

   Option: Provides Landmark/Park effects similar to a Major Landmark, like the Chrysler Building or Empire State Building, etc.

1mil seems a tad high, maybe 750,000.?

[RobertaME 1,376]

20 minutes ago, Kloudkicker said:

What post office are you referring to?

SmalltownUSA Post Office by @JBSimio

It uses the USPS Mail Trucks by @airman15 and makes them spawn all over town.

I haven't re-installed these yet as I got sidetracks by... something... :^Þ but anyway, that's the idea I was thinking of.

27 minutes ago, Kloudkicker said:

As far as I know, the mayors office only provides MR, being its an reward. But the others could be added. Park effect seems a little to much. Maybe the lot could add some  income, like mine does. Mine pay $15 and $10 a month.

I think getting money's a little too much for the first lot, personally. MR boost... there's an idea. Park effect, DEFINITELY not, now that I think about it. What about Landmark effect?

If we're talking MR, how much of a boost do you figure?

30 minutes ago, Kloudkicker said:

Here I would say one large plant or two/ three small plants for one of the requirements.

One Large plant isn't much of a requirement. I usually have one built, almost always the W2E plant, within the first 4 months. (build Transformers and Generator in January, build Dist. Substations in February, build small oil plant and Transmission Stations and demolish generators in March, build W2E plant in April) I just think that before AMPS would build a local maintenance facility they would need a significant power plant first. (anything under 8 MW/10 MVA is small potatoes, really)

Is there a reason you feel it should be open with smaller plants? Perhaps instead of a number of plants, a total MWh threshold? Once you're generating at least a certain amount of power, AMPS is willing to build a Maint. Facility in town... that sort of thing.

38 minutes ago, Kloudkicker said:

The second half is whatever you'll decide. Any good adjustment is fine with me.

There are two options for each idea. Do you think one is better? Should it be based on Difficulty settings? Maybe like this?

Easy w/o Maint. Facility: Intermediate cap at 40%, Base Cap at 60%, Peak minimum at 20%

Easy with Maint. Facility: Intermediate cap at 50%, Base Cap at 70%, Peak minimum at 20%

Medium w/o Maint. Facility: Intermediate cap at 30%, Base Cap at 50%, Peak minimum at 20%

Medium with Maint. Facility: Intermediate cap at 40%, Base Cap at 60%, Peak minimum at 20%

Hard w/o Maint. Facility: Intermediate cap at 25%, Base Cap at 40%, Peak minimum at 35%

Hard with Maint. Facility: Intermediate cap at 35%, Base Cap at 50%, Peak minimum at 20%

I really need more ideas here. I don't want to make it too easy, nor too difficult.

57 minutes ago, Kloudkicker said:

More money, lots and lots of it. LOL. 

Lots of jobs! Extra income, LM effect, MR effect and make it a green office space with slight park effect. Is what I am thinking.

I don't want what are effectively "money cheat" lots. I'm just thinking that a small monthly deal, LESS than the total monthly cost of transformers and substations, just to help offset the increased expenses over vanilla SC4 might be nice. Right now in my test city of 45k population and just a hair over 10,000 MWh/month in power demand, my monthly expenses are just over §2,760 total, and only §55 of that is for AMPS added structures... so AMPS isn't adding much of anything to costs, even for a decent-sized city.

Jobs is an idea... more than currently offered through AMPS enhanced power lots. For example, in my test city right now I have one W2E plant, a 15 MW Oil plant, 8 Solar Thermal power plants, two 20 MVA and one 10 MVA Transmission stations, and eight 15 MVA Distr. Substations. Totaling that up, that's 103 § jobs, 105 §§ jobs and 48 §§§ jobs for the whole grid for a city of 45k. 256 jobs to support 45,000 population though is a ratio of 175-to-1. The US National Average in 2017 was 184-to-1 though... so we're already employing a slightly greater percentage than in RL.

Do you think a moderate Landmark effect and some Park effect would suffice? It would mean making the lot larger to add in the greenspace. Might be worth it, though.

1 hour ago, Kloudkicker said:

1mil seems a tad high, maybe 750,000.?

I went with 1 million as a nice round figure people could easily relate to. (as opposed to what I consider a nice round number of 1,048,576... ;^)

Is a million in a region really that hard a goal? Maybe make it difficulty based? 1 million for Hard difficulty, 750k for Medium, 500k for Easy?

I would like it if I could limit the Corp HQ to one per region, but that's beyond my skill at this moment. I figured that with the goal so high, once you hit it you'd only bother putting it in your biggest city at that point. Am I wrong there?

Other than Landmark effect, any ideas as to what it should DO? I came up empty on that front and would REALLY appreciate some ideas.

Thanks for the feedback! :^)

Anyone else have ideas?

[Whte_rbt 1,431]

3 hours ago, RobertaME said:

 

5 hours ago, Kloudkicker said:

1mil seems a tad high, maybe 750,000.?

I went with 1 million as a nice round figure people could easily relate to. (as opposed to what I consider a nice round number of 1,048,576... ;^)

Is a million in a region really that hard a goal? Maybe make it difficulty based? 1 million for Hard difficulty, 750k for Medium, 500k for Easy?

For me I'd say higher still. 4 or 5 million regional population for the Corp HQ. A regional population of 1 million just ain't that difficult to get to, unless you play proper rural style like @CorinaMarie.

 

Edit: Thinking more on this, would an optional higher-targets version be more appropriate to tie in better with mods like the CAM?

[Simmer2 23,785]

@RobertaME Besides financial benefits, the best reward in game is Cap Relief for all 3 zones. Residential - Commercial - Industrial. The more the better.

Here is SM2 AMPS Rural Office take 2

Lot size 2x2, created as a C$$ ploppable landmark (~30 jobs) Can change the Occupancy group to power so it show under the power menu if necessary.

Newer looking ,smaller sized building to fit the lot, includes parking with plop dependent random car appearances a custom lit sign and wood pressure treated fences.

Made to order

Thin crust, well done, cheese, pepperonis, fresh mushrooms and green olives. (dipping sauce on the side)

Simmer2

[RobertaME 1,376]

48 minutes ago, Whte_rbt said:

For me I'd say higher still. 4 or 5 million regional population for the Corp HQ. A regional population of 1 million just ain't that difficult to get to, unless you play proper rural style like @CorinaMarie.

See, I was thinking that 1 million wasn't that hard to get. I've done it before and I wasn't even a dedicated player... and I never even used cheat lots.

And considering that a rural style play would never have any use for an office tower, that seems appropriate to me.

So one suggestion of 5 mil and one for 750k.

So... 750k on Easy, 1.5 mil on Medium, 3 mil on Hard? Basically doubling the target each time.

Thoughts?

52 minutes ago, Whte_rbt said:

Edit: Thinking more on this, would an optional higher-targets version be more appropriate to tie in better with mods like the CAM?

Having never used the CAM before, I couldn't say. I'm not even sure how the mod could tell that CAM was installed in order to change the targets. I'd need to know details of the CAM I just don't have... so, for the moment, AMPS could not support CAM-specific features. (it should still work fine with CAM, so long as that mod doesn't affect power lots, which I don't believe it does... if anyone has specific knowledge of that fact, I'd appreciate the heads-up)

Any other suggestions regarding AMPS building features is appreciated! Thanks!

[RobertaME 1,376]

3 minutes ago, Simmer2 said:

@RobertaME Besides financial benefits, the best reward in game is Cap Relief for all 3 zones. Residential - Commercial - Industrial. The more the better.

Oooo! Great thinking, @Simmer2! That would be an EXCELLENT feature of the Global HQ, as by the time you're getting it, you NEED CAP relief!

 

7 minutes ago, Simmer2 said:

Here is SM2 AMPS Rural Office take 2

Lot size 2x2, created as a C$$ ploppable landmark (~30 jobs) Can change the Occupancy group to power so it show under the power menu if necessary.

Newer looking ,smaller sized building to fit the lot, includes parking with plop dependent random car appearances a custom lit sign and wood pressure treated fences.

Made to order

Thin crust, well done, cheese, pepperonis, fresh mushrooms and green olives. (dipping sauce on the side)

It looks fabulous! It really looks like a power company front office! Bravo!

Once you put it on on the STEX and I release the Beta version of AMPS, I'll link to yours as well as @Kloudkicker's lots for people to pick from. (or get BOTH!) I'll also add official support for both lots in the mod itself, so you can make the straight STEX version have whatever stats you prefer for if someone DLs it and doesn't have AMPS installed, and if they DO have AMPS it will adjust accordingly.

Just to be sure, you didn't have to change your lot though, if you didn't want to. I don't want to stifle ANYONE'S creativity. I would have given official support to your original version just as well. In fact, if you want to put up BOTH versions, this one and your first one, I'll provide support for both as well. It's not actually that difficult to do, now that I have it all mapped out.

You are AMAZING, sir!

Update:

I've started work on the Beta version, which will include integration of non-supported power lots into the AMPS data sets, as well as accounting for degradation in power production over time due to plant aging. But there's an issue...

The mechanism for determining degradation over time is to look at game.g_power_production_capacity, the game's internal global variable that reports the real output of all power plants combined, then compare that to the AMPS ideal power generation data; GEN_x_POWER. The difference between the two would be the degree of degradation city-wide. I then apply that as a proportional adjustment to each power sector's generated power values. It's not perfect as it spreads one lot's power degradation out over ALL lots proportionally, but at least it takes degradation into account. Unfortunately there really isn't any way to get it more precise than that.

The problem lies in that the only way to account for unsupported lots is ALSO looking at the difference between GEN_x_POWER and game.g_power_production_capacity, then counting the number of unidentified power plants in the city (those that that don't have a 0xBB350xxx Occupant Group) by Power Plant Type (Building Exemplar Property 0x27812853 using game.g_power_plant_count_coal etc.) and shifting the unaccounted power generation to that category of power proportional to the count of types... Intermediate for Solar and Wind... Base for Coal, Nuclear, and W2E... Peak for  Natural Gas, Oil, and Fusion... but all the degradation losses are being shifted as well.

Example: I have 8 Solar Thermal plants in my test city putting out a maximum of 4,000 MWh per month. They're all brand new, so they're still at 100% plant condition and putting out the ideal power of 500 MWh each. I also have a 7 year old 9 MW W2E plant that is now putting out 50 less power than maximum due to aging effects and a 5 year old 15 MW Oil plant that is down 30 MWh from ideal production. So 80 MWh less than ideal is being generated. game.g_power_production_capacity is reporting a value of 15,920 MWh capacity, which adds up. (7k from the Oil plant, 5k from the W2E plant because it's maxed out, and 4k from the Solar Thermal plants, less 80 from degradation) The AMPS queries report the Peak Capacity as 6,965 MWh, Base Capacity as 4,975 MWh, and Intermediate capacity as 3,980... which is perfect from the standpoint of proportional degradation. (Peak makes up 43.75% of the potential capacity, so 43.75% of the detected degradation is applied to Peak capacity, and so forth)

I then plop an unsupported solar lot that generates 200 MWh per month. Unfortunately, using the mechanism I devised for accounting for unsupported lots, ALL of that degradation is now being applied to the Intermediate power plants instead of spreading it around proportionally, reducing Intermediate capacity to 3,920 plus the 200 from the new power lot. Peak capacity now reads an even 7k MWh and Base capacity exactly 5k... so none of the degradation is being assigned to their categories.

It seems I can do one or the other... but not both. I can either assign unsupported power to the appropriate category based on the unsupported power lot's Power Plant Type listed in its Building Exemplar... OR I can divvy up power plant degradation proportionately... not BOTH.

If I managed to explain the problem without too much muck, which way do you all think I should proceed? Proportional unsupported power lots or proportional degradation?

Thanks!

[Simmer2 23,785]

@RobertaME Another suggestion.

I would like to include the excellent banner made by @Cyclone Boom on every one of my lots that supports your mod.

At the end of the description I could put a note saying something like this:

"This lot is compatible with the AMPS mod"

And include the banner as an "AMPS certified" badge.

Off course I will also explain that my lots will work standalone ( without the mod installed)

I would require a list of my lots, the ones listed on your mod, so that I can implement this feature. Once you compile it please PM it to me.

Thank you.

Simmer2

PS regarding the first version of the lot, I will make it a bit bigger and turn in into SM2 AMPS Rural Maintenance Facility

[Kloudkicker 4,561]

19 minutes ago, RobertaME said:

It seems I can do one or the other... but not both. I can either assign unsupported power to the appropriate category based on the unsupported power lot's Power Plant Type listed in its Building Exemplar... OR I can divvy up power plant degradation proportionately... not BOTH.

If I managed to explain the problem without too much muck, which way do you all think I should proceed? Proportional unsupported power lots or proportional degradation?

Thanks!

Tough one. I have no clue which way would be best. All kinds of people could use this mod and that means lots of play styles. Fast play, slow play, new to the game, experienced players, ones that go for RL and those that don't, and so forth. How do you design a mod to take into all this into account? Tough and rough. What's maybe easy for you, maybe hard to me and even harder to the next person.

I believe in other situations, using the difficult settings is one perfect way to do this as you explained in examples. 

[Kloudkicker 4,561]

I noticed there is a land value effect that could maybe be a factor used.  Also one option a lot could maybe have, IDK, is to extend the life of plants, substations and the transformers a little. Something like 10 extra years or so. Better maintenance would lead to this, IMO, in RL. And a reward building of a larger lot that cost money up front is to recoup it back in the long run, for that building. The business of doing business, spend money now to make it back and then some, later.

8 hours ago, RobertaME said:

I don't want what are effectively "money cheat" lots.

I wouldn't consider a lot that costs money to plop and takes many, many years to make it back and then to turn a small profit, a cheat lot, IMO. 

 

Some things that could be reduced with the maintenance lot, main office and HQ, is items like garbage, plop costs, flammability, power/water usage and such on other electrical lots.

The 1x2 industrial transformer lots that shouldn't be used near high tech Industrial, could get some IHT demand cap relief to counter their effects.

*iReader properties that could be used to adjust the mod with the addition of new buildings added.*

"Mayor Rating" is the value added globally to the mayor rating

"Park effect" is how much park proximity affects desirability,

"Land value effect" is how much value is a factor in desirability,

"Landmark effect" is how much landmark proximity affects desirability. NIMBY/YIMBY,

 "Power pole monthly upkeep" and/or   "Power line monthly upkeep" could be looked into. To see if its adjustable and could be decreased a little with new power company lots.

"Waste to energy capacity" amount of trash converted to energy per month