Sm mode is basically just a single variable. Enter SM mode and the variable gets set to say, 1. On all the menus and screens there are buttons that only appear and/or work when that variable is set.
- In the economics screen you have All Research and SM Mods down at the bottum on all tabs.
*All Research gives all the research to the current default race that costs less than X value. X is set when you push the button.
*SM Mods allows the SM to directly modify all the details of a population or colony. Want free infrastructure, construction factories of population just to name a few? Add them here. It goes to the currently selected colony. Seems to default to the capital if none are selected.
- Economics>Industry tab has SM Add. Basically just creates whatever you entered in the create industrial project entries instantly from thin air. Like the create button, but instant and costs nothing.
- Economics>Shipyard Tab has SM SY Mod. It lets you directly modify the details of the currently selected shipyard. Size, number of slipways, and whether it's naval or commercial.
- Economics>Research I mentioned before. Instant gives the race the highlighted technology instantly. Instant RST does the same with all the custom techs made in the design screen.
- Economics> Environment has SM Set Atm. After setting the desired value for a gas like you were doing normal terraforming just hit this button to change the ATM instantly to the value you set.
- Economics> GU Training has Add Units. It creates a number of ground units for free. I haven't used this one yet, but it looks self explanatory.
- Commanders has replace all. Haven't used it but I assume it replaces all of your current commanders with a fresh batch with a variable amount of seniority.
- Class Design has the unlock button. As long as a class has been built the class becomes locked. The game uses the values here to determine what a ship has all the time, not just when the ship is first built. So if you change an existing class all ships of that class would 'magically' obtain the new parts for free. Unlock just allows you to edit a current design directly. Good for if you simply make a stupid little mistake that no sensible designer would miss, and already have a few ships out with the flaw. Like missing engines or no reactor on a laser ship. It can also theoretically be used to transform a tiny little scout ship into a 30000 ton behemoth for free. 'SM Mode' is just a convenient button to put you into SM mode without minimizing the screen.
- The ships screen has repair all and SM refuel. repair all repairs all damage on the selected ship automagically. Sm refuel is supposed to magically fill the selected ship's fuel tank, but in my experience, it dosn't work.
- The system screen in SM mode is the first screen you would visit when making a custom game, and is quite powerful. All the sm buttons are down in the lower right.
*Create Empire Creates a player race or NPR on the selected planet. Currently the planet needs to have an atmosphere, and oxygen Sometimes the dangerous gasses will work instead, and it will give you a confirmation informing you of what gas the new race would need to live instead of oxygen. The screen that comes up is very similar to some of the start game options.
*Create system creates a randomly generated system, just like if a ship went through a jump point. You would probably have to use this a few times before you find a planet with parameters you are looking for.
*Create Nebula is exactly like create system. It just forces the system to be a nebula type.
*HW materials is used to guarantee all minerals with decent acessability on the selected planet. Good to use right before create empire.
*All Minerals runs the random generation for minerals on the system again replacing what was there before.
*Specify Minerals lets you manually place minerals and acessability on the selected
planet.
*JP survey automatically surveys all gravity survey points in the system for the current default race. Make sure your default race is the one you want to have this effect before using it.
*All SB survey, just like JP survey, only for geo surveys of all the planets.
*Star SB survey just like the above, only effecting the planets orbiting the currently selected star.
*Body Survey Instantly does a geological survey for the current default race of the currently selected body.
*No JP survey/No SB Survey Forces the currently selected default race to lose all Jump point or system body information on the system.
*Update Atmos Not entirely sure. Seems to just refresh the screen.
*Redo Comets Re runs the comet generation routine, and forces there to be at least 1 comet.
*Random Ruin Adds a precursor site to the selected system body. May or may not spawn Precursor ships as well. I don't know.
- Task Groups has no SM Buttons, but being in SM mode with this screen removes the requirement for ships to be in the same location as the task group to be moved to it. Allowing you to teleport ships to distant task groups.
- SM mode View race details makes the race's environmental tolerances and other details editable. Works well with the economics>environment SM mode to customize a race. Remember that if you drastically change a race's tolerances you may need to SM terraform your homeworld at the environment tab of economics to keep it habitable.
- Intelligence/Diplomacy gives you communicate and Change DR. Communicate just lets your race know the target race's language, which makes it easier to spy, helps diplomacy, and get intel from prisoners. Change DR Changes your race's view of the target race instantly. The values for various things are given in the tooltip. Change DR only effects your race's view of them. It doesn't effect their view of you.
And that's all I can think of at the moment. The password for SM mode unless you set one yourself is always blank.