No-Frills, No-Nonsense mod, anyone interested?
Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 11:58 am
This is a mod with minimal graphic features (planesides and shipsides, designed for use without any combat animations), started in 2005, with minor updates to fix issues which popped up during gameplay. we restarted 3 times 11/42 was the latest we ever got. now my opponent finally quit and i consider this finished. some modifcations are done on the stock map (which noone uses anymore i've heard), so feel free to pick what looks interesting and leave the rest. probably unique features: 5"HVAR for many allied planes, a sub hunter variant of the avenger, a dedicated ASW bomb and greater variation of a/c weapon effectiveness (esp accuracy). this includes bombs, which are not getting much more accurate with increasing weight. max is ~50. on AP bombs: penetration according to various sources (mostly reduced), effect halved for AP, penetration severely reduced for GP bombs. Level bomber attacks on ships are next to useless in this mod!
Description
Weapons + systems:
All naval and coastal cannons re-done, according to navweaps.com, with MV taken into account, exceptions for 16" L50 and 18" L45 which got a slight boost (Iowa and Yamato class fanboyism), any gun that elevates beyond 50deg is now DP, with accuracy ratings reduced for slow mounts, but still DP capable. this includes th 5"L50 3YT, French 152mm (Richelieu) and Japanese 155mm (Yamato class and Oyodo), off the top of my head. ranges and shellweights accoring to navweaps also. Type13 radar is now air search capable.
All Aircraft redone, with emphasis placed on range and endurance, as well as topspeed settings, which are so importand in WitP, maneuver values according to gut feeling, more or less. Aircraft entry dates re-done, according to various sources. 5" HVAR rocket added, a few bombs added (including a 4000lbs variety for the mosquito..) Okha improved, unable to test it though, 'unable to locate target', no idea if it works. A/C weapon ranges reduced, a LOT. A/C durability now varies much more. A/C weapon accuracy altered, according to the MV and ROF strangely all .50 cal weapons ended up being the same, but what gives. type 99 is not very hot until version two comes along on the A6M3-A. explosive shells are now a bit more effective.
ASW model re-done using a common 100lb ASW bomb for both sides' air ASW (it works we tested it), with a low accuracy value to give subs a better chance (note this was introduced pre-1.5, it still feels OK with 1.801), surface ASW is hard but do-able, with older D/C models being ineffective.
Ship properties redone, AK/AP/TK maneuverability reduced to avoid mass rush evacuation of DEI under betty threat, fuel bunkerage redone for many ships, as well as endurance and maneueverability.
General Gameplay
Allied a/c supplies now along historical numbers, this means an increase for F6Fs, for example, but there are fewer available bombers, especially 4E variants.
Starting Experience levels for pilots at ~50 max (for carrier units, rest lower), i know this is not a real fix as long as training runs on empty airfields give you 99exp pilots, but air combat is less bloody now. only problem i encountered was Enterprise's (i think) F4 squadron, its experience is in the 80s and no tinkering with the editor will change it. odd. update: the reason is that some pilots are assigned to units in the database. i didn't feel like going through 10K pilots, it's probably just a little nuisance.
British Commanders now actually cut the mustard, i hope i didn't make too many typing errors, but it's now possible to find 3 decent admirals (1 CVTF and 2 SCTF) and several ship commanders with agression levels above 40.
Map Alterations (stock map, which nobody uses anyway): Singapore fortress reduced to ZERO, because there wasn't any where it mattered. Cocos Island added for strategic use of the Indian Ocean.... size 1/4, 1/4
Japanese economy re-based on imports, much fewer and smaller resource centers on the home islands, more in the resource area, which now extends to noumea (900 res to represent zinc mine or something). this means more ships commited to transport and more chances for allied subs. loss of shipping space is now debilitating to the japanese player, but there's more HI and various factories to reward you if all goes well. NOTE: the AI cannot handle the japs, overproduction and HI depletion is the inevitable result. the first thing you have to do in this scenario is to turn nearly everthing off - HI excluded, of course and deliberately choose what you want to have. there are, imho, enough HI points to accelerate the latest carriers, but you'll probably have to choose between accelerating them all and the Yamatos.
note: i decreased CV sortie count (both sides), hanging around PH for a week isn't fun, especially when torpedos are given out like candy. this is supposed to add a little finesse to CV combat, read timing, and will probably stifle elephant races deep into enemy territory where the winner tries to sink an entire fleet (plus escorts), because ammo is not an issue.
Fanboyism:
-IJN/A
Imperial guards unit is now optimised for shock attack, it rocks, but it's composed mainly of SNLF squads and lacks AAA and artillery, so be careful, unless you want to deplete your NLFs till kingdom come, several types of units added, especially nightfighters, AAA and 4 CD style artillery units (with strange names, you'd instantly recognize), 105mm flak replaced by a 100mm naval gun with reduced rof, CV capacities now more optimistic (eg. Taiho - 84 instead of 72), Shinano is now a Yamato class ship, Ise remains a BB. pilot replacements now actually offset ops losses and a pool has been added which allows IJ players to fill squadrons up to nominal strength with decent pilots. training in one way or the other (i suggest you stop at 50 exp if empty base attack is used)
G8N Renzan added, J8 Shusui added (copy of me-163, late in the game to give the allied player a reason to hurry up), D4Y3 added, some old stuff removed except A5M Claude.
Allied: several P-47 variants added, some of them with long range escort capability, P-38D and P-38L (fighter bomber) added, Seafire MK XV added, F-4U4 added (resistance is futile), CVs Midway and FDR added. British CV deck armor unrealistically strong to give them a tangible advantage over flattops without armored deck. USN pilot pool now with decent monthly reinforcements (USN - 200)
known issues: the flak gap is catastrophic, a few pilots are by default attributed to specific units, usually with high experience ratings, thereby circumventing generally lower experience levels. upgrade paths are designed for PDUs on - house rules may be required in pbem/h2h.
updated, now v1.2, probably last version: Unryu class 120mm rockets now fire at incoming aircraft, range values of several planes redone, upgrade path for Sonia and FM-2 Wildcat fixed. added Marianas turkey shoot scenario, (Scen. 6)
Grand Campaign: http://www.sendspace.com/file/42t22c - 6MB
modded Scen. 6: http://www.sendspace.com/file/c63i1k - 4MB
Description
Weapons + systems:
All naval and coastal cannons re-done, according to navweaps.com, with MV taken into account, exceptions for 16" L50 and 18" L45 which got a slight boost (Iowa and Yamato class fanboyism), any gun that elevates beyond 50deg is now DP, with accuracy ratings reduced for slow mounts, but still DP capable. this includes th 5"L50 3YT, French 152mm (Richelieu) and Japanese 155mm (Yamato class and Oyodo), off the top of my head. ranges and shellweights accoring to navweaps also. Type13 radar is now air search capable.
All Aircraft redone, with emphasis placed on range and endurance, as well as topspeed settings, which are so importand in WitP, maneuver values according to gut feeling, more or less. Aircraft entry dates re-done, according to various sources. 5" HVAR rocket added, a few bombs added (including a 4000lbs variety for the mosquito..) Okha improved, unable to test it though, 'unable to locate target', no idea if it works. A/C weapon ranges reduced, a LOT. A/C durability now varies much more. A/C weapon accuracy altered, according to the MV and ROF strangely all .50 cal weapons ended up being the same, but what gives. type 99 is not very hot until version two comes along on the A6M3-A. explosive shells are now a bit more effective.
ASW model re-done using a common 100lb ASW bomb for both sides' air ASW (it works we tested it), with a low accuracy value to give subs a better chance (note this was introduced pre-1.5, it still feels OK with 1.801), surface ASW is hard but do-able, with older D/C models being ineffective.
Ship properties redone, AK/AP/TK maneuverability reduced to avoid mass rush evacuation of DEI under betty threat, fuel bunkerage redone for many ships, as well as endurance and maneueverability.
General Gameplay
Allied a/c supplies now along historical numbers, this means an increase for F6Fs, for example, but there are fewer available bombers, especially 4E variants.
Starting Experience levels for pilots at ~50 max (for carrier units, rest lower), i know this is not a real fix as long as training runs on empty airfields give you 99exp pilots, but air combat is less bloody now. only problem i encountered was Enterprise's (i think) F4 squadron, its experience is in the 80s and no tinkering with the editor will change it. odd. update: the reason is that some pilots are assigned to units in the database. i didn't feel like going through 10K pilots, it's probably just a little nuisance.
British Commanders now actually cut the mustard, i hope i didn't make too many typing errors, but it's now possible to find 3 decent admirals (1 CVTF and 2 SCTF) and several ship commanders with agression levels above 40.
Map Alterations (stock map, which nobody uses anyway): Singapore fortress reduced to ZERO, because there wasn't any where it mattered. Cocos Island added for strategic use of the Indian Ocean.... size 1/4, 1/4
Japanese economy re-based on imports, much fewer and smaller resource centers on the home islands, more in the resource area, which now extends to noumea (900 res to represent zinc mine or something). this means more ships commited to transport and more chances for allied subs. loss of shipping space is now debilitating to the japanese player, but there's more HI and various factories to reward you if all goes well. NOTE: the AI cannot handle the japs, overproduction and HI depletion is the inevitable result. the first thing you have to do in this scenario is to turn nearly everthing off - HI excluded, of course and deliberately choose what you want to have. there are, imho, enough HI points to accelerate the latest carriers, but you'll probably have to choose between accelerating them all and the Yamatos.
note: i decreased CV sortie count (both sides), hanging around PH for a week isn't fun, especially when torpedos are given out like candy. this is supposed to add a little finesse to CV combat, read timing, and will probably stifle elephant races deep into enemy territory where the winner tries to sink an entire fleet (plus escorts), because ammo is not an issue.
Fanboyism:
-IJN/A
Imperial guards unit is now optimised for shock attack, it rocks, but it's composed mainly of SNLF squads and lacks AAA and artillery, so be careful, unless you want to deplete your NLFs till kingdom come, several types of units added, especially nightfighters, AAA and 4 CD style artillery units (with strange names, you'd instantly recognize), 105mm flak replaced by a 100mm naval gun with reduced rof, CV capacities now more optimistic (eg. Taiho - 84 instead of 72), Shinano is now a Yamato class ship, Ise remains a BB. pilot replacements now actually offset ops losses and a pool has been added which allows IJ players to fill squadrons up to nominal strength with decent pilots. training in one way or the other (i suggest you stop at 50 exp if empty base attack is used)
G8N Renzan added, J8 Shusui added (copy of me-163, late in the game to give the allied player a reason to hurry up), D4Y3 added, some old stuff removed except A5M Claude.
Allied: several P-47 variants added, some of them with long range escort capability, P-38D and P-38L (fighter bomber) added, Seafire MK XV added, F-4U4 added (resistance is futile), CVs Midway and FDR added. British CV deck armor unrealistically strong to give them a tangible advantage over flattops without armored deck. USN pilot pool now with decent monthly reinforcements (USN - 200)
known issues: the flak gap is catastrophic, a few pilots are by default attributed to specific units, usually with high experience ratings, thereby circumventing generally lower experience levels. upgrade paths are designed for PDUs on - house rules may be required in pbem/h2h.
updated, now v1.2, probably last version: Unryu class 120mm rockets now fire at incoming aircraft, range values of several planes redone, upgrade path for Sonia and FM-2 Wildcat fixed. added Marianas turkey shoot scenario, (Scen. 6)
Grand Campaign: http://www.sendspace.com/file/42t22c - 6MB
modded Scen. 6: http://www.sendspace.com/file/c63i1k - 4MB