What is the start delay for aliens and cult, and how do I turn it off?

[The Mad Monk]

This is more for the cult.

[Petek]

It depends on whether you want to play an Alien faction or the Cult, or whether you want to play another faction but eliminate the start delay.

Aliens and the Cult start in MY 2106. However, if you play as one of these factions, everyone starts in MY 2106! To see this, start a game with the Cult in slot 1. Before founding a base, observe the year (2106). Open the Scenario Editor. No one else has founded a base yet.

So, if you play the Cult or an Alien Faction, you are not disadvantaged by the late start.

On the other hand, if you play as some other faction, then the Cult and Aliens really start later. I don't know any way to change this.

In multiplayer, everyone starts in MY 2101, I think.

[The Mad Monk]

I figure that the ALIEN tag in the alien factions' text files trigger their delay, but I can't find any corresponding tag for the cult. It couldn't be as simple as renaming the faction, could it?

[Petek]

Mad Monk,

Looks like you're right on both counts:

* I used the Faction Editor to remove the Caretakers' Alien attribute. When I started a game, the Caretakers were present in MY 2101.

* Used the Faction Editor to give the Drones the Alien attribute. The Drones started in MY 2106.

* Finally, used the Faction Editor to save the Cult under a different name. The new faction (same as the Cult except the .txt file was named newfungboy.txt) started in MY 2101.

Good work!

[The Mad Monk]

Thanks! Now I know what to do.

Of course, this means that you can't have more than one non-alien faction have a delayed start in a secenario, and you have no control of the delay.

[Solver]

And adding/removing the ALIEN flag isn't recommended anyway. The flag means that Progenitor psych is needed to communicate, that bases produce colony pods when taken, etc.

[The Mad Monk]

...which is why needing to use it for a delayed start so utterly sucks.