Franco's Alliance V2.1 up to patch 1.040 compatible. EDIT: Will work under 1.07 too. But there are some things that can now be removed from my mod. For instance, some of the graphics are now part of the new patch. But don't worry about picking and choosing its simplest to just cut and paste all my files.
By Jesse LeBreton aka "Lebatron"
jesse_lebreton@yahoo.com
INTRODUCTION:
I developed Franco¡¦s Alliance to allow the game to follow a more historic path. In doing so, some major changes have taken place. Spain has been made a frozen ally of Germany to stop them from marching through Spain to close off the Med. The Japanese attack on Russia won't be so optimal anymore due to the new territories in the Soviet Far East. The US production multiple has been adjusted so that Japan no longer needs to wait until fall 1942 to attack. China has been made a little richer in resources to tempt the Japs. All unfreeze exploits have been eliminated(cross my fingers). There are also secondary issues which I have addressed too. I will cover those below.
Warning read installation procedure below before installing
New to V2.0 and up
1. Made some new territories in the Russian far east. Mongolia, Yakutsk, and Irkutsk have each been divided into two parts. The new double borders were placed strategically so that if Japan choose to attack, its advance through Russia will be delayed. For now I'm releasing this as is and will at a later time make the new borders more presentable.
2. Moved the tank and infantry in Central Siberia into West Irk. In this way they can still be used to counterattack into East Irk.
3. Gave Germany 1 point in its infantry research to make up for the increased research cost associated with the additional troops in Spain.
4. Fixed a HUGE exploit I discovered when doing the Afghan border. This exploit involves the Allies bombing Tibet instead of Japan, thus unlocking the US. This one is even worse than the one involving a British bomber in Afghan because the range is shorter. If you play this one right, the US will be in the war exactly one turn after Germany attacks Russia! Here's how it plays out. Say Germany attacks Russia in Su41. The Russians now free to move, can fly their bomber over to China's border. Next turn they bomb Tibet making it turn Japanese. The same turn the British take the bomber they had sitting in Afghan and bomb Japanese Tibet, thus unlocking the US fall41. Using this exploit the British could bypass the border changes I did to Afghan since its not about reaching Japanese territory anymore. Heck Japan doesn't even have to be on the mainland at all and they get screwed. What I have done to fix this "Tibetan Gambit" is to have Tibet turn UN if they get bombed. The effect of this is that Tibet will still stay neutral after the bombing. Now there would be no point in doing this, unless you just want to blow supply.
5. Some have talked about the futility of fighting Russia if they waited until 43. I totally agree, the Russians have to much production. The problem is the factory production multiplier. Right now its x2 in 1940. I'm OK with that. Then its x3 in 1942. That's were I disagree, I think it should stay at x2 until war is declared. Stalin pressed hard in the late 30's to move from a x1 to x2 in game speak. With that milestone being achieved, I think the country would have stabilized at x2 for several years had it not been for the patriotic zeal to save the country after Hitler betrayed them. Hence the x3 then makes sense, but not before. So I have adjusted the Russian production multiplier. The Russians no longer go to x3 production in 1942 automatically. They have to be at war with Germany or Japan to get it. In most games this would have no effect. Only when Germany waits till well into1942 will this change have any effect.
6. Removed one Russian factory at Kazan. Reason: They just have to much production. With the far east map changes they just became an even tougher nut to crack. It was necessary to weaken Russia somewhere. With this change I hope to see more lend-lease support from the allies. You A&A players may crack a smile when you see that Russia gets 24 productions points a turn:)
7. Changed the sea borders around Alaska to double borders. Cosmetically in the game they still look like single borders but function as double ones. I did not fix the map to show double borders since that will be done in an upcoming patch.
New to V2.1
1. America's x3 and x4 production multipliers have been set to 1943 and 1944 respectively. Also when Japan attacks the UN America's production multiple goes to x2 rather than x3. I know this may be vigorously opposed by some. But let me give a few reasons. First, most games see the US go right from x2 to x4 because America is brought right in at 1943. With this change, at least there is a x3 multiple in play for a little while. Second, having it at x4 for 4 years, is just to much to have a balanced game. Third, moving the x3 mutiple to 1943 no longer penalizes the Japs for attacking earlier. Forth, Germany gets their x4 in 1944, so why should the US beat them to x4 when the Germans had an earlier start on making improvements to their war time economy? But these are minor arguments. The game-play is more important than the historical accuracy. I solo played with this new multiple several times, and I think the mid and end game is much improved.
Here's the new US mutiple.
x1 1940
x2 1942 OR Japan is at war with SU or US
x3 1943
x4 1944
2. Beefed up the defensive strength of Japans home islands. Forts have been added to Honshu, Kyushu, Hokkaido, Ryukyu and Bonin Islands. Reason: Japan did alot to prepare for the invasion that they believed at the time to be inevitable. Putting forts in these areas is a good way to simulate Japan digging in and fighting to the last man. It just might be smarter for the UN player to research the Abomb. Also, another thing to consider is that Japans militia have a lower evasion. These forts are giving +3 to their defense which they would have anyway if their evasion was 5 instead of 4.
3. Added a few ships to Japans fleet. I felt the Sea of Japan looked to empty, so I added a L.F. and transport there. Also placed a L.F. in sea 191 because I felt the transport there needed an escort too since its next to a hostile coastline. The setup looks so much better that way. Anyway, there is more to my reasons for doing it than just looks. I wanted Japan to have a slightly stronger fleet.
4. The Russian regions Western and Eastern Kazakhstan plus the Caspian Sea are now frozen with the western block of Russia. Reason: to fix another exploit that involved Russia attacking Persia or Afghan to deliberately unfreeze themselves. Here's how it might play out. Say Japan attacks Russia while Germany is still at peace with them. This allows Russia to use a unit to attack Persia. If the British on a turn before had attacked Southern Persia, Northern Persia would be German. This attack on German N. Persia would unfreeze the western block of Russia allowing them to surprize attack Germany and also retreat their factories to safety.
5. I removed all other scenarios, since they are not compatible with the map changes in Russia.
End of new changes
INSTALLING V2.1
Warning: due to the changes I made in V2.0 do not install this like you would with V1.4
If you did, then the standard campaings would have a messed up map due to the new territoriers.
Step 1: What you need to do is reinstall another copy of the game in a different directory. Rename the new desktop shortcut to Franco's Alliance so you know which one is which.
Step 2: Install patch 1.040
Step 3: Then install v2.1 files into that one only following the guide below.
There are 11 files with this mod that need to be placed in the \dat subfolder of WAW. Don't worry about overwriting anything as that don't matter.
Here are the files:
alliance_fa.txt
baseline_fa.txt
coordinates.txt
factory_fa.txt
frozen_fa.txt
mapregionloc.txt
movearrow.txt
regions_fa.txt
research_fa.txt
scendat_fa.txt
scenario.txt
There are 12 new region files for the graphics I have done. Take all 12 region tga files and place them into your \dat\art\map subfolder of WAW. Say yes to overwrite old files. That¡¦s all there is to it. Now when you start the game you will see Franco's Alliance were the old scenarios used to be.
WHATS CHANGED:
Here is the list of changes I made to the original game. Some ideas are borrowed from others. So I give credit when it¡¦s due.
1: Spain gains 1 artillery and is now a frozen ally of Germany, much like Finland. Spain will unfreeze IF Gibraltar, London, or Moscow falls. If the WA¡¦s attack Portugal, or any of Spain¡¦s territories that will make her unfreeze too. Reason: I wanted to give players the option to play a more historical WWII. There is no longer a need to house rule it to protect Gibraltar. Spain will stay neutral until certain conditions are met, and they are hard to meet. Gibraltar will not be given up without a fight, since in addition to the normal drawbacks to losing it, the Spanish join the Axis. As far as Moscow goes, now I think the Germans have a little more incentive to push for it rather than looking elsewhere in Russia. I have also made the Canary Islands true neutral just like the Azores, but for different reasons. These Islands were causing an interdiction point when they were made into a German ally. That had to change. But I could do nothing about the few extra interdiction points the WA¡¦s get from Spain when they pass through Gibraltar. To solve this, just duck into the Port of Gibraltar and back out, and you¡¦ll avoid those extra interdiction points.
2: Portugal gains 3 infantry, 1 artillery, 1 flak, and population increased to 1. Reason: so the WA's don't get a free pass to the mainland if Gibraltar has fallen. Since Portugal can now defend itself against a small invasion, perhaps the allied player will choose to leave Spain and Portugal alone. Now that Portugal has troops, other issues needed to be addressed. The population was increased to 1 because it just makes sense. I also removed the Portuguese nationality from the Azores. They are now true neutral territory. This was done so Germany does not actually gain Portugal itself if the Azores are taken by the WA's. There's no need for Portugal to turn Axis because of that. If the allies continue their aggression and decide landing at Portugal is their best move, then they will have to pay 10 supply again. Also those territories in lower Africa stay Portuguese if only the Azores are taken. This is better than everything Portuguese turning German just because the allies borrow the Azores for an air base. Historically the allies got to use the islands when some political pressure was used. That's the 10 supply you pay to use the Azores.
3: Gibraltar and Malta no longer have rough terrain, and Gibraltar gains rail. Reason: If Germany goes all out to conquer Gibraltar, then they should be able to strategically redeploy to and from Gibraltar as needed. Since the Spanish Gambit is no longer an option, the sea invasion should be made a little easier. That's why I removed the rough terrain. Same reasoning for Malta. The WA can still hold them if they are determined to. Oleg's idea. Thanks.
4: Norway now has 2 resources. Removed 1 from Sweden. Reason: Done to encourage German invasion of Norway and perhaps deter taking Sweden a little. Sveint's idea. Thanks.
5: Added 1 tactical air in West Germany and removed 1 fighter in Finland. Reason: Germany just needs more Stukas. And Finland just didn't have that much airpower. Trade one for the other. Balance not changed much. Oleg's idea. Thanks.
6: Finland unfreezes when Leningrad OR Kalinin are attacked. Reason: Taking Leningrad was an unreasonable requirement. The Finns now join when the Germans show some muscle up north.
7: Hungary gains a factory, 1 pop, and can now make militia. Reason: Hungary contributed. Germany may need a few extra militia down the road because things are going to be much hotter in the Mediterranean. Also, it¡¦s just kind of neat to see all the flag slots on the production screen filled. Isn't it? Oleg's idea. Thanks.
8: China gains 3 resources. Most regions of China now have 1 resource. The capital now has two to make the victory sweeter. Reason: to find a balance that will make it a split decision for the Japanese, between a China/India campaign, or a Russian one. In this way more options are available to the Japanese Player. I didn¡¦t make this change because I believe Japan shouldn¡¦t attack Russia, because I know it was a historic possibility. What I want to do is make it so that it¡¦s just one way to win, but not THE way to win. Perhaps in real life, attacking Russia would have been their best strategy. But do you want to see the same strategy play out every game because it¡¦s the optimal way to win? No, I don¡¦t think you would. To be fun, WAW needs many different ways to win, even if certain areas need to be made richer. Some realism needs to take a back seat to achieve this. So what I did was give China more resources to encourage Japan to look to China rather than invading Russia. This does not make China any harder to conquer, but will at least make it more worth while for Japan. The new resources also end the silly and gamey Jap avoidance of certain Chinese territories with no value.
9: Fixed a bug. Gulf of Mexico and Greater Antilles now connect.
10: Fixed another bug. I made two new files to show a double border between sea zone 191 and 353.
11: Fixed an exploit that I believe breaks the game IMHO. That being, the WA¡¦s invasion of East Prussia to unfreeze the Soviets early. It¡¦s unrealistic to think that just because the British take the fight a little more east and gain some German soil temporarily, that Stalin would break his pact with Hitler. I think at this early point in the war it would have been more likely to see the Soviets help the Germans. After all, Stalin would not wish to see the British liberate Poland. This attack would have further cemented German-Soviet relations. But in the game this exploit does the opposite. So what I have done is remove the garrison requirement from East Prussia and bumped Poland¡¦s up by one. Also moved and infantry from Czech to Poland to satisfy the requirement. Now the British landing in Prussia will do nothing but get them killed.
The WA's are still free to take out the Denmark garrison, move into the Baltic, fight the German fleet, and land in Prussia. That option is still available, the question is, should it be checkmate? That move shouldn¡¦t be that powerful. It should not be some magic key that unlocks the Soviets.
Once again, let¡¦s revisit this what-if. But let¡¦s call it by a more realistic name. Say ¡§Operation Liberation Poland.¡¨ After all, would that not be the British objective if they established a bridgehead in Prussia? Let¡¦s forget about the illogic of liberating Poland before France for a second. The allied liberation of Poland is underway. Do you think that Stalin would side with the allies and just hand back the half of Poland he just acquired. No way in Hell. At this early stage in the war, Stalin and Hitler were pseudo allies. This allied attempt to liberate Poland would have resulted in a partnership between Germany and Russia to throw out the allies, ending any future hope that the Russians would join the allies, unless Hitler betrayed them down the road.
In summary the destruction of the garrison at Prussia creates an event that is the total opposite of what would have happened and should be corrected.
12: Fixed another exploit that breaks the game IMHO. Once again, the British have found another exploit. Them bastards;) This one unfreezes the US early. The designers have put an impassable wall around the Pacific Rim for a reason. To keep Japan in, and Britain out, until the Japs decide to make war. But the British have a way in! If they capture Afghanistan and place a bomber there, they may have the range to bomb the Japs. For instance, let¡¦s say the Japs just took the Chinese capital. If the British have a bomber in Afghanistan with range 5(not hard to get), they can hit the Japs and instantly unfreeze the US. Then the US can go on a rampage around the Pacific totally hitting the Japs off guard. To have any hope of balance, Japan needs to have the surprise attack. Instead with this exploit, it¡¦s the US who gets it. That¡¦s not coolƒ¼.
So what I did to deter the WA¡¦s player from using this exploit is made the border between Afghanistan and Eastern Kazakhstan 2MP. It reduces the range a British bomber can travel. Thus making it less likely the WA player would even occupy and place a bomber in Afghanistan. To do what I explained above, the British would need to research to range 6. Probably not worth it and by that time it probably won¡¦t matter. I made three files that patch the map to show a 2MP border there. Also modified to include a 2MP border at Western Himalayas and Western Kazakhstan as Joel Billings requested. Install using the instructions above.
Thanks to JanSorensen for pointing out the problem and suggesting the 2MP border.
13. Caucasus now has a 2MP border facing the Black Sea. It will now require a range of 3 to reach it from Romania. Reason: to reduce the amount of airpower Germany can bring to bear. Players have demonstrated that it¡¦s possible to capture Caucasus with a Paradrop. This change now makes that much harder. I made a file that places a double border along the Caucasus coast. Joel Billings requested this one. Thanks big guyƒº
14. I added 1 flak and 1 artillery to the Bonin Islands. Reason: since they are on the front line of defense I thought it odd they should not be garrisoned as well as the others. So I gave them the same setup as the other strategically important Islands.
15. Axis Auto Victory has been increased from 70 to 75. Reason: 70 is to easy to achieve with a neutral land grab by Germany. By increasing it to 75, Germany will not likely be able to win an AV without first going to war with Russia. This forces a traditional game to take place. Note: many are now using the new AV that will be coming soon in a patch. Which is 70PP +Moscow or London. This is about equal to achieve as the 75 is. If you prefer to play with requiring a capital victory then play with AV off. Off coarse when you do, its up to you to keep an eye on the count as the program will not.
EXTRAS:
A: If you'd like to have zoom levels that go out, rather than in, put this code into your art.txt file. Place next to original code that is located 70% down the list. Put // in front of all original code to bleep it out.
// zooms for the game
MAP_ZOOM,4800,3000,2000
// chip scaling by zoom
CHIP_SCALE,3000,1700,1500
// Y ofsets by zoom
ICON_Y_OFFSET,25,25,25
You could also use 4000 in place of 4800. That¡¦s the furthest out you can set it and still have all the onscreen info.
At 4800 the icon offset was originally at 35. But I think 25 works better because it places the ships closer together. Also air sits a little closer to land units. I think you'll like the tighter look better. Try both 25 and 35 to see for yourself.
B: If you are tired of hitting escape 3 times to get to the game, go into the video folder and look for the 3 intro videos. Rename these, and they will no longer harass you. Example: XXX2by3intro.wmv
