Mod for random maps

[Bombur]

Finished work with submarines, paratroopers, flak and heavy tanks. Mor details latter.

[Magpius]

Incredible efforts here Bombur, about 3 months ago you mentioned about 3 months to go.
-any hints for a release date, or are you going to hold back and wait until Vic releases 1.17 and absorb any scenario changes?

[Bombur]

Unfortunately it will take more time, I´pm somewhat busy with real world tasks, now I´m on vacations and will make some progress. I won´t risk giving release dates again....

[Vic]

ORIGINAL: Agent S

Incredible efforts here Bombur, about 3 months ago you mentioned about 3 months to go.
-any hints for a release date, or are you going to hold back and wait until Vic releases 1.17 and absorb any scenario changes?

These two efforts are on seperate tracks and dont influence eachother.

kind regards,
vic

[Bombur]

Here is the summary of last things done.
Submarines
I-Plunger and Holland Classes (Early XX century)
II-Early WWI (U-9, US K Class, British F class)
III-Late WWI (British G class, US L class, German U43 to U66)
IV-Interwar, large subs (US Dolphin class and UK Odin class)
V-Early WWII (German U boat VII and US Gato class)
VI-Late WWII (U boat XXI)
VIII-Diesel submarines with cruise missiles (USSR Whiskey class)
IX-Early nuclear subs (USSR November class and US Grayback class)

Main Battle tank (post war, will replace heavy and medium tanks): T-55 and M-47

Paratrooper I (similar to Rifle II)
Paratrooper II (similar to Rifle I)

Transport aicraft I: C-47 and Ju-52
Transport aicraft II: C-54 and Avro York
Transport aircraft III: C-124

Flak I-Improvised WWI guns
Flak II-WWII 20mm AA guns
Flak III-37-40mm AA guns
Flak IV-88-90mm AA guns
Flak V-120-128mm AA guns
Flak VI-Improved 40mm Bofors guns, able to track fast targets
Flak VII-Automatic systems like the Skysweeper

Antitank portable weapons
AT Rifles (level I)
Bazooka/RPG/Panzerfaust (level II)
Recoiless gun (level III)

Fighter bombers
Level I: P-39/Me-110/Ki-45
Level II: Fw190F, Thyphoon
Level III: Hornet, F7F, F4U1-D
Level IV: F-84
Level V: A-4
Level VI-Su-7 (which will be cheaper and harder to be shot down by subsonic fighters but will have much less offensive capacity than the A4)

[Bombur]

Finished work on Tank Destroyers

Level 1-Pzg I
Level 2-Marder II and M10
Level 3-SU-85, Jadgpanzer IV, M36
Level 4-Jadgpanther, SU-100

[Joshuatree]

Looking great Bombur! Do you have any screenshots?

[Bombur]

Work on old units is almost finished. I´m currently working on Cruisers (lots of new classes). Then I will modify battleships, create battlecruisers, maybe change transport ships (not sure on how to do it). Then I´m intending to create a few more SF types.
Here are my ideas
1-Assault guns
2-Ground attack aircraft (like the Il-2 and the A-1)
3-Naval patrol aircraft (like the PBY and the Fw-200)
4-Recon aircraft
5-Self propelled flak and artillery
6-Rocket artillery
7-Surface to air missiles (including nuclear armed ICBM´s)
8-Surface to surface missiles
Now I have a doubt. My mod intends to simulate aeronaval operations (within the limits of the game engine). However, we need recon aircraft. Currently, we can´t use carrier based aircraft due to engine constraints (we will spend all AP to make a recon mission). So I have two alternatives
1-Give cruisers and battleships a very high recon value to simulate embarked aicraft or
2-Place floatplanes on cruisers and battleships (but if you have BB´s and CA´s in the same fleet as carriers, we will have the same troubles with recon)
So, what alternative is better? Any idea?

[Bombur]

No, because I didn´t create the items and tech tree. I´m still creating units. I can, however, send the files to you if you want to take a look at the project. Just tell me your e-mail

[Bombur]

Finally finished the work on cruisers and battleships. Now I will take a look on armoured cars. Already creating items, tech tree and balancing the first units. It will cost me a lot of time!!! An important limitation is that it seems level 1 tech should be turned off in order to allow the game to work, otherwise the tech tree is ok, but appears with strange graphics (the original ones). I´m using a trick to avoid the player to concentrate efforts in one area while neglecting the others. I have three groups of basic tech for each decade (land, air and sea). They are prerequistes for all units built in that decade and also give you access to one unit (to help the AI, as it looks at the SF graphic). However, to research air units for a given decade you must already know the land and naval techs for the former decade. The same is valid for the other two basic techs. I hope it will balance the tech research.

[Bombur]

Here is the first screenshot

[Joshuatree]

Looking nice Bombur! I see you changed the production costs? I mean, 6000 for Art1?
Haven't installed your files yet. [:o]

[Bombur]

ORIGINAL: Joshuatree

Looking nice Bombur! I see you changed the production costs? I mean, 6000 for Art1?
Haven't installed your files yet. [:o]

-Yes, I changed them. In or5der to simulate economic growth and industrial development, latter units will be cheaper than earlier ones. It will be hard to have massive tank formations and large strategic bomber fleets before you reach at least 1930´s technology. This effect will be sharper for planes and tanks, while costs for capital ships will be almost flat.

[Bombur]

The task of balancing the units is a formidable one. I´ve also decided how cost of units will decrease.

Ships: 5% decrease each decade
Vehicles: 20% decrease each decade
Planes: 20% decrease each decade up to introduction of jet planes. The transition prop to jet will result in a 10% increase in cost and the cost remains unchanged
Ships: 5% decrease each decade
Infantry: 10% decrease each level

Still must add Battlecruisers, cavalry, coastal guns (conventional guns will have no antiship effect). Decided to add topedo boats to create a scissors/stone/paper flavor in early game. Torpedos boats will be vulnerable to destroyers but not to slow warships. On the other hand, they will be powerful against slow warships and almost useless against faster ones. This will force the player to build a balanced fleet in the early game. Ships will have movement cost allowance according to maximum speed.
Ships 1: 4 hexes (<20knots)
Ships 2: 6 hexes (20-24,9 knots)
Ships 3: 8 hexes (25-29,9 knots)
Ships 4: 10 hexes (>=30 knots)

[Bombur]

Now I have a working version of my mod, able to cover from late 1800´s to WWI. Had some tests vs AI, and the game seems to work well, except by....
1-Artillery is cost ineffective, so neither the AI nor the human player is interested in building it. So I decreased artillery cost to 3000 (notice that artillery is less effective than in stock game)
2-The AI is building a fleet based only in Torpedo boats. They don´t understand that these ships will be decimated by destroyers. I fear the AI can´t understand the complexity layers added to naval warfare
On the other hand, infantry assaults are being decimated against well prepared defenses, just like in early 1900´s.
Next step will be to place a human vs AI playtest in the Forum. It will result in some suggestions to improve the mod, I hope.

[Bombur]

Already adding naval patrol aircraft and cavalry.

[Bombur]

Here is a screenshot of the partial tech tree. I already have almost 60 units defined and limited ability to simulate aeronaval warfare, a thing I want to test soon...here is CV Lexington. You will be able to convert your Battlecruisers to Carriers....

[Bombur]

-The game is already playable, with about 70 SF´s, and you already can have fleet carriers and torpedo bombers. The AI, however, seems to be somewhat crazy. Since I introduced cavalry, the AI is buidling huge cavalry armies. The big trouble is that cavalry has a strong penalty when attacking cities and fortifications. This places the AI at disadvantage. Yesterday, for the first time, I saw the AI buidling a destroyer (it still prefers the Torpedo boats). I have the impression that the AI is running into logistic troubles too....

[Grymme]

have you defined what roll the AI will use each SFT in?

[Bombur]

ORIGINAL: Grymme

have you defined what roll the AI will use each SFT in?

Yes, but....cavalry can´t only be used as "infantry". I cannot define new roles....