[MODCOM] Air Forces Mod

TheLopez

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Air Forces Mod
By: TheLopez

Last Update: 11/08/06

Version: v0.2w
Patch Compatibility: Warlords v2.0.8.0
MP Compatible: ?
Download Mod v0.2w

Version: v0.2
Patch Compatibility: v1.61
MP Compatible: ?
Download Mod v0.2

Description:
One of the things that I felt was always missing was an expanded air plane
promotion system. It also seemed a bit silly that air units were unable to gain
experience points. The Air Forces mod changes these two aspects of the game.

On another note, for all those people who thought that I was crazy for
including the airbase building in the Military Bases mod, now you know why I
did.


Installation Instructions:

1) Unzip this into the "civ4_install_folder\Mods\" folder.
2) Open the CivilizationIV.ini configuration file
3) Change the Mod line to read: Mod = Mods\Air Forces Mod
4) Load the game.
5) Then play as normal.


-----Game Play-----
Spoiler :

- Three new unit combat types: Early Aircraft, Airplanes and Jetplanes. The
early aircraft unit combat represents aircraft from the WWI era or earlier,
the airplanes unit combat represents aircraft from the WWII era and the
jetplanes unit combat represents modern day aircraft.

- Updated aircraft combat code so they will now gain experience like other
combat units. Additionally aircraft set to the intercept mission will also
gain experience when they intercept other aircraft.

- Reduced the air range by 2 for all aircraft since they will now be able to
get the range promotions.


-----Promotions-----
Spoiler :

Air Range I:
- Requires: None[TAB]
- Abilities
- +1 Air Movement Range
- -10% Strength

Air Range II:
- Requires: Air Range I Promotion
- Abilities
- +1 Air Movement Range
- -5% Strength

Air Range III:
- Requires: Air Range II Promotion
- Abilities
- +2 Air Movement Range
- -5% Strength

Air to Air Missiles I:
- Requires: Improved Radar Promotion and Rocketry Tech[TAB]
- Abilities
- Can Intercept Aircraft (10% Chance)

Air to Air Missiles II:
- Requires: Air to Air Missiles I Promotion
- Abilities
- Can Intercept Aircraft (15% Chance)

Air to Air Missiles III:
- Requires: Air to Air Missiles II Promotion
- Abilities
- Can Intercept Aircraft (10% Chance)

Chaff:
- Requires: Improved Radar Promotion
- Abilities
- Evade Interception (+15% Chance)

GAU-8 Gatling Gun
- Requires: None
- Abilities
- Evade Interception (-40% Chance)
- +75% vs. Archery Units
- +75% vs. Mounted Units
- +75% vs. Melee Units
- +50% vs. Siege Units
- +75% vs. Gunpowder Units
- +50% vs. Armored Units

Improved Radar:
- Requires: Radio Tech[TAB]
- Abilities
- Can Intercept Aircraft (15% Chance)

Multiple Target Acquisition I:
- Requires: Improved Radar Promotion
- Abilities
- Can Attack Multiple Times Per Turn
- +1 Movement Range
- -15% Strength

Multiple Target Acquisition II:
- Requires: Multiple Target Acquisition I Promotion
- Abilities
- +1 Movement Range
- -15% Strength

Multiple Target Acquisition III:
- Requires: Multiple Target Acquisition II Promotion
- Abilities
- +1 Movement Range
- -5% Strength

Torpedo:
- Requires: Radio Tech
- Abilities
- -1 Air Movement Range
- Evade Interception (-15% Chance)
- +75% vs. Naval Units


-----Notes to Modmakers-----

If you want to use the Air Forces in your mod I have tried to make things as
easy as possible for you. In the XML files I have added
<!-- Air Forces Start --> and <!-- Air Forces End --> in all of the places
that I have made changes to the original files.

In the SDK files I have added // < Air Forces Start > and
// < Air Forces End > in all of the places that I have made changes to
the original files.


-----Version Information-----

-----v0.2------

- Updated the intercept code so when a plane is intercepted but is not
destroyed they will gain some experience.

Spoiler :

-----v0.1------

- Added 3 new unit combat types: Early Aircraft, Airplanes and Jetplanes. The
early aircraft unit combat represents aircraft from the WWI era or earlier,
the airplanes unit combat represents aircraft from the WWII era and the
jetplanes unit combat represents modern day aircraft.

- Updated aircraft combat code so they will now gain experience like other
combat units. Additionally aircraft set to the intercept mission will also
gain experience when they intercept other aircraft.

- Reduced the air range by 2 for all aircraft since they will now be able to
get the range promotions.

- Added the <AirRateChange> tag to the CvPromotionInfo schema definition and
the underlying SDK code changes required to utilize it.

- Added three new promotions specifically for aircraft units: Air Range I, Air
Air Range II and Air Range III. These three promotions increase the air range
of aircraft units.

- Added the GAU-8 Gatling Gun promotion. It significantly increases combat
against land forces but at the risk of not being able to evade interception.

- Added the Topedos promotion. It significantly increases combat against naval
forces but it reduces aircraft units range and reduces the chance to evade
interception.

- Added the Improved Radar promotion. It increases the aircrafts interception
probabilities and is required for other promotions.

- Added the Air to Air Missiles promotion. This set of promotions improve the
interception probabilities of aircraft.

- Updated Airports so they give air units 4 XP when built like barracks


-----===Credits & Thanks===-----

- Exavier
[TAB]Composite Mod - readme.txt format

- RogerBacon
[TAB]For inspiring me to develop this mod.
[TAB]
- Testers
[TAB]Jeckel and Aussie_Lurker
 
Once again THELOPEZ a good MODCOM just what I was after, and congrats to you and your Wife [party] for the baby.

One question, I have been making my own personal mod over the last year with XML and a bit of Python, but I dont know C++ or have any of the tools, how will I go about adding these SDK items like yours to my own personal mod?

Many Regards, and once again congrats.

Riker13 :crazyeye:
 
Nice work. But why same name on different promotions - Air Range?
 
It was a copy and paste error Zuul, it should have been "Air to Air Missiles" instead of "Air Range" on the second set of promotions.
 
Congrats on both the personal and the gaming stuff, TheLopez. ;)
Happy diapering. :D
 
Great addition TheLopez!
I was thinking of doing it myself but never got around to it (too lazy). I did add code that makes it so each individual air unit can have its own range. I guess you must have something like that in your code too since each unit could have a promotion that changes it's range.
I made a wonder "Lindburgh's Trans-Atlantic Crossing" that gives +2 range to all planes of the player who completes it. It would work for your mod too but the user would have to change the python commands from setAirRange() to whatever you use. If you want to look into it and borrow it, it's in the Flying Mod.

Roger Bacon
 
Dom Pedro II said:
So under what circumstances do air units actually gain experience? From Bombing and Air Strikes? Or only from Intercepting?

From successful combat kills just like any other unit... I wanted a bit of community feedback regarding how XP should be given... I thought that giving XP for every successful bombing run would be too much. Don't you agree?
 
TheLopez said:
From successful combat kills just like any other unit... I wanted a bit of community feedback regarding how XP should be given... I thought that giving XP for every successful bombing run would be too much. Don't you agree?

Yes, I absolutely agree that it would be excessive.

Here's my point though.. what constitutes a "successful combat kill" with regards to air combat besides interception? Air strikes can't destroy units.. they only damage them, so you'll get no kills from them.

Even with interception, the number of planes actually shot down is relatively small compared to those that are intercepted and only damaged. And in no case would you ever have Bombers getting promotions since they can't intercept.

I'm just looking for some clarity on this.


EDIT: Well, if you were possibly interested in revamping the system somewhat, a more random success rate for bombing might be an interesting idea... Currently, you're either intercepted or you're not... and if you're not, you pretty much know how much damage you're going to do. (Though I seem to think that bombing improvements has a chance of failure? Am I right on that?)

In any event, you could make XP gains based on successful bombings so that either intercepted runs or runs that just failed because the target was missed, would not get XP.
 
Dom Pedro II said:
Yes, I absolutely agree that it would be excessive.

Here's my point though.. what constitutes a "successful combat kill" with regards to air combat besides interception? Air strikes can't destroy units.. they only damage them, so you'll get no kills from them.

Even with interception, the number of planes actually shot down is relatively small compared to those that are intercepted and only damaged. And in no case would you ever have Bombers getting promotions since they can't intercept.

I'm just looking for some clarity on this.


EDIT: Well, if you were possibly interested in revamping the system somewhat, a more random success rate for bombing might be an interesting idea... Currently, you're either intercepted or you're not... and if you're not, you pretty much know how much damage you're going to do. (Though I seem to think that bombing improvements has a chance of failure? Am I right on that?)

In any event, you could make XP gains based on successful bombings so that either intercepted runs or runs that just failed because the target was missed, would not get XP.

Actually Dom, I changed the fact that planes cannot kill units in this mod through air strikes... but they could kill other air units through interceptions...
 
TheLopez said:
Actually Dom, I changed the fact that planes cannot kill units in this mod through air strikes...

Well, that does change things... (did I miss that being written somewhere in the first post? I don't see it... seems important)

It's going to take some experimenting of course to see whether they kill units frequently enough.
 
Give a Bomber XP every time its intercepted when Bombing (and lives ofcorse)

That way you dont get exp for "Milk runs" but when you fly into the jaws of the Interceptors and come out alive theirs a reward to compensate for the damage. Exp value could just default to 1 or could be based on the amount of damage recived or the quality of the Unit that did the Intercepting.
 
Impaler[WrG] said:
Give a Bomber XP every time its intercepted when Bombing (and lives ofcorse)

That way you dont get exp for "Milk runs" but when you fly into the jaws of the Interceptors and come out alive theirs a reward to compensate for the damage. Exp value could just default to 1 or could be based on the amount of damage recived or the quality of the Unit that did the Intercepting.

I was thinking that'd be a good idea too.
 
I agree, thats a good idea...

I am also looking for other ideas for air unit promotions... any suggestions?
 
Incessed Bombing abilities, say a greater % chance to succed on a bombing run or greater damage (I guess a bonus against DomainLand units would be equivilent to doing more damage in bombing). Also are air units afected by First Strikes? If so then allow them to get Drill, Bombers should also have Barage and other seige type promotions.
 
Yeah, I feel like the ability for an airforce to rapidly scramble their planes and have them in the air should be shown somehow... a really well-trained, elite airforce should be able to get in the air fast... I'm not sure what that would translate to in civ terms... increase in intercept chance??

Also, can a defending aircraft destroy an attacking aircraft?

In Civ3, that was really the only way to gain air superiority over enemy territory to making bombing less destructive for your own military... send fighters in for pointless bombing runs so that they would be attacked by an enemy fighter and hopefully would win.

I wish that there were a way to proactively destroy an enemy's airforce...

Might be cool if bombings could damage planes "on the ground".. i.e. those that have not intercepted the bombers.
 
Didn't some one already do some work on an "Air-Superiority" mission for just that purpose? Was it Lord Olleus?
 
@Impaler - no, aircraft are not affected by first strike... As for allowing aircraft to get the drill, barage and other siege type promotions, I don't think I want to do that. I want to come up with aircraft specific promotions instead.

@Dom - Yes, defending aircraft can destroy attacking aircraft. As for having a promotion to increase the interception of incoming aircraft and destroying aircraft on the ground that sounds like a good idea.
 
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