Bottlenecks Mod: Updated Jan 16, 2026

[btd64]

Hey LST, ANy kind of an update coming soon?....GP

[LargeSlowTarget]

So, I poked around Allied first turn a bit, and, oh boy, one special TF around Tahiti would make Anita Sarkeesian rage quit your mod at once!

Who the f*** is Anita Sarkeesian?

Seriously, I had to google the name to discover a whole polemic I have entirely missed. Jeez, nowadays you cannot say or do anything anymore without someone somewhere feeling offended. I'm against caveman behavior but heck, the human race would have gone extinct long ago without men admiring female assets. That special TF is just an Easter egg and virtual memorial for my old sigpic I had to retire in the name of pc. Funny it took so long for someone to find it and bring it up.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Hey LST, ANy kind of an update coming soon?....GP

Not soon, sorry. I want to advance further into my pbem, there may be other things to fix down the road.

[btd64]

Hey LST, ANy kind of an update coming soon?....GP

Not soon, sorry. I want to advance further into my pbem, there may be other things to fix down the road.

Received and understood ....GP

[derwho]

Just dropping you a note LST that we are at turn 655 with the1henson playing Bottlenecks v1.3 with simplified R&D.

No major issues with the mod so far. I'm playing Japan and after quite some effort I've now conquered the whole of China. We are engaged very seriously in the Marianas, Timor and and Burma with my worthwhile opponent pushing me very hard currently.

Supply is a constant problem for me but something I can live with, it just restrict what I can do. Oil is a very scarce resource but I'm able to still keep my industry running at 4300 HI.

Drop me a PM if you want some more detailed info/feedback.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Thanks for the feedback! In my game against Axe I'm struggling to keep enough resources flowing to the industries in the Home Islands, but I'm only at turn 253 (Aug 42) and just started to get my resource convoys organised after the initial expansion phase. So HI points and supplies are not exactly ample at the moment, which puts a brake on overly ambitious expansion plans - as it should be in this mod. No expansion at all in China. However, I have taken Darwin and Chittagong in order to kill Allied ground units and to delay Allied moves into the oil region for as long as possible. But instead of an Empire I am building a house of cards...

[Nazcatraz]

Hi. Thanks for the mod. I'm using it for the first time in a PBEM game. Can I just use the other map + graphics mods that I'm used to instead of the one provided by bottlenecks?

[LargeSlowTarget]

Hello Nazcatraz,

my mod files contain modified map panels for the "Pacifica Bellum v2" map mod with adjustments reflecting the database changes I have made.
You can use other maps as longs as they have been made for the "extended" maps.
In that case you may notice a few inconsistencies for dot bases "swimming" in ocean hexes without land and regarding railroads and bridges.

For graphics mods for the GUI, anything goes, but I believe some of my changes might actually be useful (the coloured TF icons "Button3_X" for example).

You may need to add the ship "side" and "shil" files I have created (or permitted to import from other mods) to your setup because I have added many ship classes and you may suffer glitches if the side/shil files are not present in your setup.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Hi,

I have uploaded updated Bottlenecks files on Dropbox

Nothing fancy, just some polishing, error-fixing and minor tweaking.

Incomplete change-log for version 2026A:
- corrected duplicate B-17 slots
- fixed recombination error of NZ division
- tweaks to road network in Malaya
- tweaks to base sizes / supply caps
- Singapore now light urban terrain to reduce defensive terrain bonus - balancing, in several tests / games I have had trouble capturing it with larger than historic forces and later than historic
- changed Clark back to clear terrain - same reason as for Singapore, balancing US-Phi defence which I found too effective with jungle terrain def bonus
- fixed withdrawal date error for AK Betelgeuse
- corrected Mine Mark 18 not being produced because set to 'can build = no' by error
- Mine Mark 6 set to produce 300 per month for the duration of the war - historic starting pool was 59.000 (!) and it remained in the USN inventory until 1985
- upped loading capacity of Daihatsu barges to be able to transport motorised support and light / medium tanks
- corrected industry slots error rendering certain bases immune for city bombing
- corrected Wasp air-group resizing error in order to stay with air capacity
- corrected error rendering base immune for ambhib attack - can't remember which one, think is was Cape D'Urville
- corrected VP value of Mengtze base (5, not 50)
- number of Japanese pilots in pools at start greatly reduced as Japan had gone "all in" and there was practically no reserve of trained pilots
- number of US pilots in pools at start have been increased, because US started to train more pilots in 1939 and 1940 due to events in Europe
- revised garrison requirements in India - only cities important enough to have their names shown on the map retain / gain a garrison requirement. At-start movement orders for garrison units adjusted.
- switch to Bellum Pacifica extended map v3, with some terrain modifications, but without the map symbols (oïl, repair yards etc.) I had added on the v2 version. Too much work and v3 has introduced some map symbols in a better way.
- only two scenario versions maintained, the "standard production" with the usual plethora of different Japanese engines and full R&D, and the "simplified production" version with generic "engine" device for Japanese planes and limited R&D.

These "preliminary version" is intended for testing and to allow my future PBEM opponent to familiarise himself with the changes before we launch our match.

Some work still needs to be done on the map ("southern border" is missing) and the documentation needs major reworking.
It seems some Allied ShipShils are missing as well.
But I am one game month into a H2H playtest and have seen no issues.

[derwho]

Appreciate the update and your efforts! We are down 900+ turns with Joshua on this mod and I thinnk it's quite enjoyable and bug free.

[Cavalry Corp]

Yep, understand all this and many of these things I have added to mine as well- good.

[derwho]

I actually have a question for you LargeSlowTarget regarding the mod (?).

I'm playing IJN on Scen61. If i withdraw a air squadron before their withdrawal date and want them to be rebuilded, when the squadron returns, they have the original return date still in place and the only option I have is to disband the squadron. I'm unsure does this affect all my squadrons which have a set withdrawal date or just some. Or am I doing somekind of mistake.. ?

[Bullshark]

I just downloaded the "2026A" files from the dropbox: Scenario's 59 & 61. I got a "Scen unable to load" error.
The poster above was able to get into scen 61 so I presume it is just me.

I opened up Scen 2 after downloading and I absolutely love the map. But now the map differs from the latest beta. Specifically the river crossing at Moulmein, has no bridge in the beta. Missed Bottleneck there.

[LargeSlowTarget]

@derwho: Air units are the part of the game I have modded the least. Could you please indicate the air unit(s) concerned and what exactly you have done? With screenshot please before disbanding and after the return if possible.

@Bullshark: I will recheck the files this weekend and post here again.

[LargeSlowTarget]

@Bullshark: I have forgotten to include two files in the Scenario zip - new file "Scen2026A1" uploaded. Sorry.

New map files will follow soon.

[Bullshark]

Thanks for the quick fix. Scen file works fine. The Map "..00 and ...01" file might be what you were referring to.
I put a vanilla map tile into these fields and I still could not click on Abadan ..01 map.

LST thanks for all your mod work and great AARs over the years, really appreciate your insights. You and your teams dedication to creating a detailed historical simulation is to be admired and this latest version is a wonderful refinement.

Edit F/U note below. Thanks for the map link.

What happened to my Favorite Ship? She's going in un armed?
NO! You guys got it right. It upgrades 6/43. A nice realistic touch.
It seems the Japanese removed alot of guns from their AMC to convert them to xAK and placed them on other ships.
On one of the Truk ships the gun reg. plate was dated 1899.

[LargeSlowTarget]

Hello @Bullshark:
Thanks for the flowers, glad that you like my mod (it's not a team effort, I'm on my own). Please bear in mind that my humble efforts are based on the good old "DaBigBabes" mod - the guys who created that mod deserve credit.
My current map version should work fine, I have no issues with it. I was referring to updates to map symbols and adding the "southern border" I have been working on (see below).
Do you use the map provided with the mod?
If you are using a different map and it is not an "extended" version but a "standard" version, you will get problems with Abadan.

@All:
I have just uploaded a new modified version of the "Bellum Pacifica v3" map (again, the map is not my work, just the modifications) which adds the "southern border" of the blockade runner corridors, and some symbols to highlight the locations of the most important assets in the game - refineries. File "Map2026A1" on my Dropbox.

[LargeSlowTarget]

I have updated the first post by adding the changelist for 1.4 (2016A) and updating the description of the remaining two scenarios. If someone really want scen 60 back - a mix of 59 and 61 with full engine management but limited R&D - let me know.

[btd64]

LST, I hate to be a pain in the a--, but could you post all of the needed files on the first post and get rid of the old stuff?....GP

[LargeSlowTarget]

The Dropbox link in the first post leads to the most recent mod version files. I have deleted the links to the "hotfixes" of older versions. Is this what you meant, btd64?