My comments/suggestions on the Super Abilities:

It is my current belief that Super Abilities *should* be super powerful. The trick is making sure each super ability is just as powerful, but in a different way.

Super Diplomat/Manipulator - These two are not only too similar, but they are very hard to quantify just how much benefit they give. The trading screen should clearly indicate when your trade is Green because of these abilities (Say... Having the AI screen say something to the effect of "Well.. I normally wouldn't do this..."). That will make it easier to see just how much benefit you are getting from them. As for ways to make them less similar... well... I don't have any at the moment.


Super Trader - This ability is mostly fine, but I don't think it really fits the Korx, given they are an evil race and they might get their only unique benefit nullified by a UP Issue.

Keep the Super Trader ability in the game (for the use of custom races/opponents), but make a new Super Ability for the Korx as detailed below:

SUPER SMUGGLER -
This race is adept at smuggling trade goods. They start out with the Trade Tech and their number of trade routes is never reduced. In addition, their Trade Routes are immune to attacks and are not disbanded during war (ie: although they can't establish new trade routes with races they are at war with, they get to keep the ones they currently have with that race).

And as a last note, the Super Trader ability should give a bonus to Diplomacy when making trades where one side of the deal is only money (and maybe Economic Treaties).


Super Breeder - The current bonus is fine but to make it better compare to the other abilities here have the planet they start with in the beginning of the game already have the max population supported by the Civilization Capital and half the morale penalties due to high populations on worlds they colonize (but not get through invasions or culture flipping). A race that breeds super fast probably should also be able to better deal with large numbers of themselves.


Super Adaptable - I suppose this can provide a strong bonus in a game with a lot of Special Worlds, but I propose this revision to it to bring it up to speed with the better Supers:

This race can colonize ANY world in the beginning of the game. However, these worlds only produce 25% as much production as normal and population growth on special worlds is hindered by its production value (thus, the super adaptable race on a planet they can colonize at 50% has its population growth at 50% slower on that world). The cost of research Xeno Biology and its later techs should also be reduced by some amount for the race.

With these changes, a Super Adaptable race would be to capture a lot of worlds if they wanted to, but it would be hard for them to build up these worlds at first and they also wouldn't be able to get the population base needed to be able to support these worlds without taking a huge hit to their economy.


Super Spy - Rather than making their worlds immune to spies and giving them a free agent at the start of the game, I would give them the ability to automatically nullify one random agent on one of their worlds at no cost and without the use of an agent at the END of each of their turns. Also, no race can get a higher than Low Espionage Level with them and the Super Spy race always has at least a Low Espionage level with every race they have had contact with.

In this way, you can still spy on a Super Spy, but it will be very costly to maintain (since you are might to have to place a new agent each turn). Not allowing any race to have a higher than Low Espionage level maintains the "Hey, I'm a MYSTERIOUS and SECRETIVE race! OoOoO!" feel of the Super Spy ability.


Super Isolationist This is a very good racial ability as is. The only thing I suggest is a diplomacy/influence/trade penalty, as others have stated above. Maybe also a Loyalty bonus, if the penalties are high enough.


Super Hive This is also a very good racial ability as is. The Unlimited range is a nice ability, but it can hinder you as much as it helps (since by the time you might get a ship to the other side of the galaxy, you'll likely have much more advanced ships in your arsenal, so its only really good for non-military purposes. Its the build factories in one week that could be a problem. I might suggest taking on a Speed penalty to the ability to help balance it. Of course, maybe I've just been playing too much Sword of the Stars lately...

A second option would be to make literally only Factories (and Basic Factories) be built in a single week. The higher tech Factories would take the normal time. This is probably the better option.


Super Warrior Great ability as is. But can I make a suggestion and have it NOT apply to Cargo Hulls (or preferably any hull marked in the xml files with a special property)? If possible, I might also suggest they only get the first strike in combats they initiated.


Super Dominator I really hope you keep the ability for them to better be able to get bribes/extortions. If you do, I would definitely also suggest making sure it is clearly apparent when it is your ability and not normal circumstances that is letting you get the trade.

The gaining of ships when you go to war does need two tweaks:

1. They gain the bonus ships only once every year they declare war on a particular race or they should disappear when you are no longer at war with that race.
2. The maintenance cost of the ships should probably be reduced/eliminated so as to make sure it is not going to be a hindrance rather than a bonus (especially with the AI).

Super Organizer - Great, flavorful ability. Two suggestions, however:

1. Give them a diplomacy bonus when they are making trades in which one side of the deal is only Influence points, Treaties, or Alliances. Maybe lax the requirements for making Treaties/Alliances.
2. Make it completely clear when it is this ability that is having a particular race declare war (or when you are getting a trade as above) on your enemies (as with the other abilities that deal with the diplomacy engine).

Super Annihilator - Another great, flavorful ability. I agree that this ability isn't as powerful as it seems to be. I really don't have any other suggestions with it, though.


General Super Ability Issues:

1. Races that start out with bonus techs because of their Super Ability should be incredibly reluctant to trade them away, especially during the better part of the first decade of the game or so.
2. There should be an easy way to see what Super Ability a race has in game.
3. There should be a way to completely disable all Super Abilities.
4. Not having a super ability should give that race more ability points to spend, unless super abilities are disabled entirely.
5. I'd like to see more, unused Super Abilities be added that can be used with custom races/opponents.
6. Influence, Diplomacy, and Trade penalties that Super Abilities might get shouldn't apply when dealing with other races that have the same Super Ability.
7. Along with the recent change to make innate abilities stack with the Ability Point choices you make (which I really, really hope stays), the Super Abilities add the single largest layer of strategy/flavor out of any of the additions so far, imho.

Well... sorry for the long post, but I really hope that people read and comment on it. Good job so far with the super abilities!

One last thing:

I'd like to see better integration of Super Abilities with UP Issues and Mega Events.

For instance, during the plague the following might happen:

1. A Super Isolationist AI during the plague might never trade away the plague cure.

2. The Super Adapters could research the plague cure at reduced cost/time.

3. The Super Breeders might be able to weather the plague with their high population growth.

4. The Super Annihilators might gain a new, improved version of their Spore Ship to research when the plague event happens.

5. The Super Organizer would be more likely to be gifted the cure, or races might be all to willing to sign Research Treaties with them during this time.

6. A Super Trader/Smuggler AI would be all too willing to trade away the plague cure... for the right price.

I think you get the picture

Nice post!

I think you made Super Adaptable too weak though. What if Super Adaptable was also immune to spore ships? Could add an interesting dynamic.

Also, is there any plans to give races with no Super Abilities some extra points or something?

I think you made Super Adaptable too weak though.

Lol I think this could argubly be the strongest of super abilities. The colony phase is the most important phase of the game. With this abilty you could potentially hugely out colonise your opponents.


Lenius.

Right now it seems to depend upon what size of galaxy you play on. The smaller the galaxy the bigger advantage for Super Adaptable. But on larger galaxies there are a lot of planets to go around, so you can make do just colonizing habitable worlds until you do the research for hostile enviroments. At least, that seems to be my experience.

The Super Hive bonus is kind of confusing me- for one, wouldn't the hive thing-should realisticness be considered- take 25/10% off all Millitary/social production instead of easy factories?{even though it appears very cool. Then again, it could make gameplay very unfair} And how would bieng a super hive affect range?

Another interesting possible dynamic for super hive:

Make other buildings (non-factories) take twice as long to produce.

Lol I think this could argubly be the strongest of super abilities. The colony phase is the most important phase of the game. With this abilty you could potentially hugely out colonise your opponents. Lenius.

Right, I acknowledge that it is potentially powerful, but hardly the most powerful as currently. Super Isolationist or Super Warrior gets that award, imho.

Right now it seems to depend upon what size of galaxy you play on. The smaller the galaxy the bigger advantage for Super Adaptable. But on larger galaxies there are a lot of planets to go around, so you can make do just colonizing habitable worlds until you do the research for hostile enviroments. At least, that seems to be my experience.

Yep, that's what I do. I also never research the techs. I just trade for them. This can also be true in smaller galaxies with abundant inhabitable planets.

Yep, that's what I do. I also never research the techs.

I put most of my research into diplomacy, so I can get better deals from the AI. Thats how I get most of my tech, as well as money.

I would rather see the abilities toned down before you add penalties. Penatlies may make balance more complex, and possible harder to reach. Now, for my opinions.

Super Warrior - To my knowledge, the first strike is only for the first round. For other rounds, attack proceeds post-1.2, correct?

Super Isolationist - Instead of a fixed number, why not use a percent, like 50 percent?

Super Trader - 2x trade is an improvement, but is still iffy because trade is not as profitable in the late game. I would like to see trade routes in general become more profitable, or at least increase the cap and add more trade techs, or more trade routes per tech. In addition, make the korx very reluctant to trade away their trade techs.

Super Hive - Instant factories sound overpowering. Half-cost factories might be better.

Super Adapter- Sounds fine, just make sure they are not willing to trade away their techs.

i think you guys are underestimatting the true power of the spore ship. in my game play example, the rise of the korath, whitch i still ned to finish, the Titan was a huge hulled juggurnautthat started with phasers or phosinic beams, but towards the end of the game, it had 2 doom rays, and with my weapons bonus and its level, about 55 attack power. witrh this ship, alone, no help from others, ALL the major races were killed off. so, very unbalancing.

somethingi forgot to mention because edit button has acess denied, make the spore ship have effects when you use it! the terror star from gal civ 1 comes up, it is similiar to the spore ship, but i like designing my own spore super ship. make it show a big green beam or something comming from the ship.

Perhaps the spore ship could be hugely costly eg 200-300 extra industry. And/or perhaps it should be auto targeted first when in a fleet because of the danger it represents.

Mid game super Abilities need to be quite powerful because those Races should often be playing catchup to the early super ability races.


Lenius.

I heartily second the idea of integrating the super abilities with events.

Re Super Hive, a discount on factories does seem like it might be better than the one-turn thing. Not that I'm not having fun upping my production almost at will

Super Breeder = 100% taxrate? Looks like very very overpowered.