there is a list of a lot of the original sins that have been here since a few months after release. thats around the time i learned to mod myself.  as far as artifacts go, im not sure how exactly you could go about it to get what you want.  if you do reply in this thread or pm me again, can you go into a little more detail. ill take a look at this thread again when i can see/think straight and see what i can come up with. keep in mind modding sins is generally more fun than playing the game because its seeing how creative you can get to get something you want working the way you want it.

as to the original poster, let me know if there is any other errors in the files i posted. ill have another look or make a revision to change any values you want tommorow (today) when i wake up if i have time.

also:

Here is the manifest maker by harpo (in case you didnt already game it) there are also a few other resources around that ill post links to should you need them.

Here a rather in depth site about moding sins. well it least its a start.

well at the moment its to late/early for me to attempt to create a planet, planet bonus, and to try to get the effect you desire. so, for the time being ill go to bed. but when i wake up (assuming i have time in the evening, and the opening has no problems with the ability i created for him) ill go about trying to get the desired effect you want.  from that point on, if you would like and i have time, ill see about working with you to get other variations to work, if its possible.

did a quick edit of the ability for the op to test it. you can only do 1 planet at a time but if you set it to a 0 second cool down with the right finishing conditions you can get the effect you want. ill create you a mini mod with proof of concept tomorrow.

The ability works perfectly. Thanks for everything. If there's anything else, I'll post.

after about 2 hours of fiddling around i found out that you can NOT have a active ability on a planet, and that getting a passive ability to do what an active ability does is going to be tricky. for now i am taking a break. but we shall see if i can get it to work later on.

as for the AI, that sort of thing light be in the game play.constants but generally speaking you cant mod what the ai does (just the priority it has on say defense, economy, research, etc.)