Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: shermanwar

Newbie Question here!

In reference to fixing this in the Steam version and adding your idea of making counties more specialized (Finland in forests/Switzerland in mountains etc) is a lower or higher number better?

If we did Finland :

LandCombatDefenderModifiers]
Plain = 1
Forest = 1.5 <—————- should this go up or down to make them better in this condition?
Rough = 1.7
Swamp = 2.0
Hills = 1.4
Mountain = 2
Desert = 1
City = 2
Fort = 0.1
NearbyDefendersValue = 0.05


Thank you for your help with all of these questions!
Sherman

This is the defender terrain combat modifier and is a multiplier where 1.0 is neutral (no additional effect), so for Finland to be better at defending in forests, change forest to 2.0 (modifier x2), or 2.5. Place the modded data in the consts_Finland.ini file, creating one if it doesn't already exist in any scenario. Adjust until you get the effects you want.

Modifier 0.5 reduces any terrain effect to 50% and you can set up a combat in the game and look at the combat odds which are being applied, to help adjust your modified settings. If you mouse over the combat odds (Att and Def) information panel in the game, you will get a 'fly-out' showing what modifiers are being applied to calculate the combat odds.

To overcome the terrain modifier bug, every nation in play needs its own country consts.ini file (created if necessary) in each scenario folder, with the complete terrain modifier data included, modded as necessary for any additional national attributes - e.g. Soviet Union in Swamps, Switzerland in Mountains, etc..

Once you have each nation with its national consts.ini file you can adjust other features, such as command effectiveness data, etc..

Some of the modded data doesn't stick after a game save, like 'NearbyDefendersValue = 0.05', which will disappear, but the main terrain data holds. Any nation which doesn't have its own consts.ini file and data will default to the data in the scenario main 'consts.ini' file.

Thanks very much! I will build those files for the countries and tweak their special skills. Perfect!!

How to fix the Income issue / Unkeep issue?

ORIGINAL: Cohen_slith

How to fix the Income issue / Unkeep issue?

First post in the thread, but it's worth reading all comments.

I've read it all - the first post - there is nothing bout maintenance.
Only the terrain and armour modifiers.

Edit: I've found few answers later the supposed fix to the unkeep bug... but it seems to not work, each single turn that string is nuked away. It serves nothing to save and edit it before the end of the previous turn, cash still goes negative no matter what.

I feel to have wasted cash (not a big amount as I bought it at some discount on Steam but still...)

ORIGINAL: Cohen_slith

I've read it all - the first post - there is nothing bout maintenance.
Only the terrain and armour modifiers.

Edit: I've found few answers later the supposed fix to the unkeep bug... but it seems to not work, each single turn that string is nuked away. It serves nothing to save and edit it before the end of the previous turn, cash still goes negative no matter what.

I feel to have wasted cash (not a big amount as I bought it at some discount on Steam but still...)

In v.1.06 you have to make modify with the terrain values all of the the 16 individual nation's const.ini file and save them separately somewhere (I saved them in the 'Save' folder). If you create const.ini file for other nations, the same applies.

In addition to the terrain/combat modifiers you have to add to your separate Germany, Great Britain, Italy, USA, USSR const.ini files the "[UpkeepCost] MaximumSupportedSizeOfArmy" line with the original values from the Germany, Great Britain, Italy, USA, USSR const.ini from the original scenario folder.

Now you have 16 (or more) separately seaved const.ini files with the terrain modifiers, and 5 of these 16 had an "[UpkeepCost] MaximumSupportedSizeOfArmy" line with the relating values.

Until you save a game in your scenario there's no problem with the terrain and the size limit (maintenance cost) modifiers. But AFTER you save a game and BEFORE ending your turn (giving the AI back the game) you have to copy these separate 16 const.ini files and paste them into your game's SAVE folder to replace the const.ini files there. If you do this, when you get back the game again from the AI every terrain/combat and maintenance value will be all right. Until you save the game again, when you have to do this copy-paste trick again, and so on every time you save.

Annoying but very short procedure. It's worth not giving up on the game due to this bug, because it's very interesting game with good conception.

By the way, in v1.05 there's no maintenance value problem, you download the package from the net can switch back.

Missed out the part it happens on -every- save. So I assume I need to disable the autosave ... that may do the trick ... still ... does not seem a good way to play a game, even the less if one plays PBEM.

ORIGINAL: Cohen_slith

Missed out the part it happens on -every- save. So I assume I need to disable the autosave ... that may do the trick ... still ... does not seem a good way to play a game, even the less if one plays PBEM.

Yes, it's a bug and will never be fix by the developers, so one must find a workaround. The F12 (or shift+F12) is an alternative way to set your PP to the level where it supposed to be by the right math.

If you post a screenshot about the production and upkeep reports, respectively, maybe I can figure out something.

It will never be fixed because they have abandoned the game by now ... I admit I am gobsmacked that there are such blatant issues at the 1.06 patch (as if that was like 1.00 release... and still it would be a massive bug to go undetected in any testing.)

I've toyed a bit with the strings in the national files but alas as soon as a save hits definitely something goes awry. Not even the default file for all nations of the scenario - by being altered - changes the business.

EDIT: That trick does not work. No way to disable autosaves, thus back to square 0. Income goes negative regularly - and I do not think I should do that type of math each damn turn in a game in 2020 (or even 2014 or whenever this came out).
Do you know ways to prevent the game to take autosaves? Or it will simply 'save' anyhow of its own accord even if I do not save anything.
The game - no matter if I save or not - goes bogus with the Upkeep.
I am not sure if it is the autosave that counts as a save, or else. But all what is suggested above does not work unless I want to use the cheat code. And the cheat code is not viable because I assume the AI-Nations (ie UK, USA, URSS) will suffer of the same bug and will not be able to build up their own forces too as they should.

Terrain business worked and remained in the txt files.

ORIGINAL: Cohen_slith

It will never be fixed because they have abandoned the game by now ... I admit I am gobsmacked that there are such blatant issues at the 1.06 patch (as if that was like 1.00 release... and still it would be a massive bug to go undetected in any testing.)

I've toyed a bit with the strings in the national files but alas as soon as a save hits definitely something goes awry. Not even the default file for all nations of the scenario - by being altered - changes the business.

EDIT: That trick does not work. No way to disable autosaves, thus back to square 0. Income goes negative regularly - and I do not think I should do that type of math each damn turn in a game in 2020 (or even 2014 or whenever this came out).
Do you know ways to prevent the game to take autosaves? Or it will simply 'save' anyhow of its own accord even if I do not save anything.
The game - no matter if I save or not - goes bogus with the Upkeep.
I am not sure if it is the autosave that counts as a save, or else. But all what is suggested above does not work unless I want to use the cheat code. And the cheat code is not viable because I assume the AI-Nations (ie UK, USA, URSS) will suffer of the same bug and will not be able to build up their own forces too as they should.

Terrain business worked and remained in the txt files.

The upkeep/income problem could be adjusted in the consts.ini text files, but who knows what the correct figures should be. I don't think that the developers were experts on WW2 national economies and who is, so where is the information to set meaningful upkeep/income levels ?

The simplest way to deal with it, is to take an average of each significant countries scenario PP level and, if game events, or upkeep settings, cause a major change in a nation's PP level, I would correct that using F12 (v1.05).

In F12 you can access all nations, in game, including AI controlled counties, and change national PP levels to keep them at a sensible level.

v1.06 uses F12 for something else, which looks like a supply overlay, but the access to PP adjustment is now <CTRL-F12), I think. I am not running v1.06, so I can't check, but I think that it is 'CTRL' and one of the 'F' keys.

Not ideal, but it can save a scenario where the PPs levels have gone mad. The reality being that most countries maintained an average overall level of production, either steady, usually rising, despite heavy bombing, until some major event occurred, like enemy tanks arriving outside, or an A-bomb.

So I think F12 is a useful and legitimate tool to control the vagaries of the game.

Edit : I see that this has been discussed before, in another thread, and the PP control is in <Shift-F12> for v1.06.

Actually the solution posted above worked - it's just that I was totally mind-puzzled by Germany losing PP on the first turns ... (which to me is absolutely bogus). Like 1939 Germany cannot sustain the 1939 army? WTF?

But yes it's working as intended and designed (can also see the designers are from Poland... considering how 'active' the Polish partisans are in this game).

ORIGINAL: Cohen_slith

Actually the solution posted above worked - it's just that I was totally mind-puzzled by Germany losing PP on the first turns ... (which to me is absolutely bogus). Like 1939 Germany cannot sustain the 1939 army? WTF?

But yes it's working as intended and designed (can also see the designers are from Poland... considering how 'active' the Polish partisans are in this game).

I think that some problems in the game are connected to scenario 'events' and, although the developers may be talented computer software developers, how expert are they in WW2 politics and economics ?

Being Polish, they are understandably proud of Poland's performance in 1939 and consider that the Wehrmacht was so damaged by the 'Fall Weiss' campaign, that Germany was unable to launch any further actions. The PP dive is to enforce that view.

Historically, Hitler ordered the campaign in the West to begin as early as January 1940, only stopped when the plans were revealed to the Allies. So how justified is the PP drop, but either way, it can fixed, as most things can be, only it is a high workload keeping this game going.

Discovered that bug or not anyhow the values for Upkeep are wonky.

Keeping them as they're German army goes in overload by '41 at my first game vs the AI and gains like 10 a turn. Considering air units and navy are not accounted in army maintenance ... it just screams 'overinvest in these things'.

Before Barbarossa the historical minors cannot be aligned due to diplomatic points shortage - and pratically the minors are fated to remain to Tech1 of everything pratically up to the end of the war...

Social Unrest seems not to be computed at all either (For the better frankly as the options to get Social Unrest are just silly by what I've read of the few events and it seems there is no way to get rid of it - so this is a bug I welcome...). When in 1940 it pops a 'German people are tired of a prolonged war' I was WTF?

These things can ALL be fixed in the events files. All you need to do is go in a remove or change some of them. Then you will not have to worry about PP problems.

Personally I felt the map was too large for Corps, Its more of a divisional map. I modified the Lightening War map and files to give a more Corps level game without all the BS scripted stuff which is where most of the bugs are. But my goal of making a new map is at a crossroads as I hate not being able to import a smaller version and just expand it. The editor doesn't allow you to expand and existing map size. I wish it did as i would increase lightening war to be about 50% bigger which would fit more. The Larger map is too big and too many countries to wait for loading. I also modded the units so Germany can make Romanian or Hungarian looking units. Then have their countries absorbed in Germany, never liked the idea that you cannot combine attack because of it being a different country.

Also the designers must have not realized that UK was not the leader in WW2 after America got involved. lol

I see the opposite With both corps' and divisions occupying 1 hex (that is, a corps doesn't have 3 separate divisions) this is rather a corps-sized map, or a game. I mean the full map. Hexes are too large (or the map too small) for a division-based game. If you enabled divisions only they would clog the whole map in no time And unfortunately this is not a variable feature with the given adjusting possibilities.

Yes, it's a weakness that you can't attack together with your allies (you can lay a siege with various nations' units, though), or you lose the results of your allies' recon. I'am sure these were among the complains/mod requests, and the cause was the limits of the game-engine.

Likewise, as you say, the USA should be the leader of the Allies. And many many more inconsistencies and abandoned possibilities, but the developers finished the project, and there's nobody among the fans to pick it up.