[BtS MOD] Wolfshanze 1850-1920 Enhancement Mod v2.0

[Wolfshanze]

Sounds awesome.

By the way I'm still plugging away with my first game of your mod. Nothing yet... it's still early. I'd forgotten how sheer dang long the early game is with Marathon. Marathon really should have compressed the early game and lenthened out only the middle and late game.

Wodan

Well... if nothing else, you can look at the pretty flavor units until the naval units kick-in.

 

[Xenomorph]

Well... I'm doing something I swore I'd never do... I'm going to add a tech to the game in my mod. ONE TECH... no more. I'm adding "Air Supremacy" as a tech... it will be squarely inbetween Flight and Advanced Flight, and should allow a good progression of flight technology from Biplanes to WWII aircraft to Jet Aircraft with each getting a good shelf-life and no eras being "skippable".

Awww, only one? You should at least also add Jet Engines.

I'm still waiting for Leonard Nimoy to return my calls, but I think he's busy filming a new music video so I may have to do something else for the tech quote voice intro.

lolz

 

[Wolfshanze]

Awww, only one? You should at least also add Jet Engines.

Nope... one's enough... Flight-Tech gives WWI Biplanes, Air Supremacy-Tech gives WWII aircraft and Advanced Flight-Tech gives jet aircraft... that's good-enough for me. Air Supremacy also allowed me to close the loophole of getting WWII aircraft without ever flying a single biplane. Makes me happy and did find a nice spot on the tech chart that isn't out of place or feel forced.

If I did ever add a 2nd new tech, it would probably be a naval-one... but for now I think the default techs are good-enough and I don't see a need for any more techs.

 

[Wolfshanze]

Okay... I'm done messing with stuff for awhile... this version should stand for some time unless a major fault or bug is spotted, but I feel this is both a very stable version and a more feature-rich mod over previous versions.

Note one very important thing... with all the changes, I seriously doubt any save games from v2.3 and prior will port-over successfully to v2.4. So if you cherish the current game you are in, please finish it with the version of the Wolfshanze mod now installed on your system... THEN switch to the new v2.4.

In other words, you should only use Wolfshanze Mod v2.4 if you intend to start a new game... not continue an existing save.

Also realize this version of the Wolfshanze Mod supports 40-civ games and includes Bhruic's unofficial patch for BtS, which really everyone should be using anyways!

The download should be up and running on page-1 of this thread, and the changes in the mod are listed below... I hope you all enjoy my vision of how Civ4 should be played.

***********
New in v2.4
***********
Major adjustement to how naval units are handled, though mostly "under the hood". All ships are now set in combat groups by what "Age" they are from (Age or Sail, Age of Steam, etc, etc). Same ships and combat values as before, but now newer generations of ships get bonuses against older tech ships. Also two new promotions are available for the more modern ships... "Damage Control" which is similar to "March" and "Gunnery Control" which is similar to "Blitz". Gameplay shouldn't change much from before... most of the changes are just to ensure things happen as they should... you should see less occurances of Dreadnoughts getting sunk by Ironclads for instance.

Added new tech "Air Superiority" as a tech-requirement for WWII aircraft.

Lt.Bob's (v4.0e) 40-Civs allowed with Bhruic's patch changes now included. This is a newer version then in previous Wolshanze Mods.

Added Cephalo's Perfect World map script... similar to the Tectonics Map Generator, but I think it's just superior.

Whaling becomes obsolete with Ecology instead of Combustion
Modern Workboat resized

New models/skins for:
German Spearman
Native Knight
Native Musketman
Native Rifleman
Native Cavalry
French Galleon
Spanish Galleon
English Galleon
English Infantry
Viking J22 Fighter
Viking Saab18 Bomber
French Mirage2000 Jet FIghter

New flags for:
Germany (*multiple*)
America (Betsy Ross)
England (Union Jack)
France (Tri-Color)
Russia (USSR)
Japan (Rising Sun)
Spain (National)
Greece (National)
Korea (National)

Okay folks... the debate is over...

Germany's flag has been changed from the Swastika/Third Reich flag to the North German Confederation of 1871 flag... also the state flag of Imperial Germany (not to be confused with the war flag). I've had a hard time settling on one flag to cover the bulk of German history, so I chose one that was used for some time and/or had some symbolism of Germany. If you too are unsure which German flag is your favorite, I actually left three custom flags inside the mod to choose from...
1) 1871 North German Confederation with Cross (default)
2) Imperial German War Flag
3) Third Reich Flag (Nazi)

If you'd like to use a differant flag for Germany, this is how you change it:
A) Go into the Wolfshanze Mod Assets/XML/Art folder...
B) Find the "Civ4ArtDefines_Civilization.xml" file.
C) Open in Notepad.
D) Find "ART_DEF_CIVILIZATION_GERMANY"
E) Change this (from default):
<Button>,Art/Interface/Buttons/GermanConfederation.dds</Button>
<Path>Art/Interface/TeamColor/FlagDECAL_GermanConfederation.dds</Path>

to this for Imperial Germany:
<Button>,Art/Interface/Buttons/ImperialGermany.dds</Button>
<Path>Art/Interface/TeamColor/FlagDECAL_ImperialGermany.dds</Path>

or this for the Third Reich:
<Button>,Art/Interface/Buttons/ThirdReich.dds</Button>
<Path>Art/Interface/TeamColor/FlagDECAL_ThirdReich.dds</Path>

 

[Merum]

Yay! Thanks, Wolfie! I'm going to go do some umm... extensive playtesting now.

 

[mamba]

Is it intentional that you left the submarine and carrier as regular naval instead of assigning them to modern naval ?

 

[Wolfshanze]

Is it intentional that you left the submarine and carrier as regular naval instead of assigning them to modern naval ?

Yes... it's intentional. Submarine (Dreadnought/Modern) and Carrier (Modern/Nuclear) both span more then one naval-tech-category, as does the Transport (Pre-Dreadnought-to-Nuclear), so those three I intentionally left in a seperate non-bonus category.

They gave me fits trying to figure out how the bonus system would apply to them for awhile.

Combat results for those ships against other ships and other ships against them still work-out the way I want them to. I'm happy with the way the naval system worked-out, but like I said, those three ships can be considered "multi-generational", so I left them in a non-bonus category, which saved me some headaches and explanations.

 

[mamba]

I would have liked for them to get your new promotions, I guess now they won't

 

[Wodan]

I discovered this morning when I upgrded that save games are not compatible with the new version. Not a big deal, but it does cause a CTD. Would be nice if it had a more elegant terminate function.

Wodan

 

[Wolfshanze]

I would have liked for them to get your new promotions, I guess now they won't

The naval/multi-gen category gets the Damage Control promotion... carriers and subs can repair at sea... they don't get the Gunnery Control promotion... another intentional decision. My vision of the gunnery control promotion is mostly centered on multi-turreted surface ships wrecking havoc... something neither subs nor carriers are really designed for (and certainly not transports). The nuclear-age subs do get the gunnery control promotion though... way too modern not to wreck havoc.

There is a method to my madness!

Just because the term "naval unit" still exists in my mod doesn't mean it was a category skipped or forgotten. That category is every bit as legit as the six "age" categories and it has it's own role... maybe I should rename it to "Multi-Age" units or something so folks don't think I forgot about it?!?!?

In other news... yes... I mentioned both in the original thread and on this page in the v2.4 announcement that this version is NOT compatible with saves from 2.3 and prior... sad but true. I lost a very fun game myself... but I don't want to play v2.3 anymore!

 

[mamba]

The naval/multi-gen category gets the Damage Control promotion... carriers and subs can repair at sea... they don't get the Gunnery Control promotion... another intentional decision.

[...]

There is a method to my madness!

Agreed, I prefer carriers and subs to not get gunnery control, but having damage control is nice, I'll follow suit

 

[arstal]

The naval/multi-gen category gets the Damage Control promotion... carriers and subs can repair at sea... they don't get the Gunnery Control promotion... another intentional decision. My vision of the gunnery control promotion is mostly centered on multi-turreted surface ships wrecking havoc... something neither subs nor carriers are really designed for (and certainly not transports). The nuclear-age subs do get the gunnery control promotion though... way too modern not to wreck havoc.

There is a method to my madness!

Just because the term "naval unit" still exists in my mod doesn't mean it was a category skipped or forgotten. That category is every bit as legit as the six "age" categories and it has it's own role... maybe I should rename it to "Multi-Age" units or something so folks don't think I forgot about it?!?!?

In other news... yes... I mentioned both in the original thread and on this page in the v2.4 announcement that this version is NOT compatible with saves from 2.3 and prior... sad but true. I lost a very fun game myself... but I don't want to play v2.3 anymore!

Another idea. Perhaps Gunpowder Units could be split up into regular units and assault units?

reasoning:

Grenadiers, Paratroopers, Marines could get CR promotions, and those units were historically used to assault places, so CR makes sense.

Tanks should lose CR I think. Traditionally, Tanks aren't good at city attacks.

Would that work?

 

[PimpyMicPimp]

Awesome update, I'm happy that your so involved with your mod and the community around it Downloading the new version now, can't wait to give it a whirl.

I think you handled the flag issue perfectly, now everyone is happy!

 

[Wolfshanze]

Awesome update, I'm happy that your so involved with your mod and the community around it Downloading the new version now, can't wait to give it a whirl.

The community? Dang, and I thought I was making this mod just for me!

But seriously... no problem... thanks for the kind words...

I think you handled the flag issue perfectly, now everyone is happy!

Gee, I sure hope so. Of course somebody will come along and complain that I don't have the current German flag as an option... oh-well... maybe I'll add a 4th option in the next update just to cover all the bases... heck, I didn't even think about the current flag till after I released the update then I thought "oh boy... somebody will say something", so I volunteered that right now to avoid any surprise or shock value!

But seriously, those three flags should cover it pretty well... I think all three are well-done flags and surely somebody can find one that's to their liking.

Another neat thing... the flag-change can be done "mid-game" in case anyone wants to play around with the flags... it won't adversely effect any saved-games if you want to change a flag mid-game.

Still... the "meat" of this update was the changes made to the naval system... I hope folks will enjoy those changes, and hopefully naval combat goes even more the way you would think it should... with "naval trumps" occuring in the naval arms race being even more pronounced now.

 

[mamba]

The community? Dang, and I thought I was making this mod just for me!

That's what you get for posting it here

Still... the "meat" of this update was the changes made to the naval system... I hope folks will enjoy those changes, and hopefully naval combat goes even more the way you would think it should... with "naval trumps" occuring in the naval arms race being even more pronounced now.

It definitely is, I added it to my mod (but only give a bonus of 10 from dreadnought on)

BTW do you intend to move to WoC format ?

 

[Wolfshanze]

It definitely is, I added it to my mod (but only give a bonus of 10 from dreadnought on)

Oh cool... I'm starting a naval fad...

As for the age-bonus, I originally got the idea from the Frigate/Destroyer thread... somebody was talking about giving newer ships a 50% bonus against older ships or something to that effect... I thought it was a good idea but didn't want to go overboard with it.

I played-around with a lot of percentages for the bonus... I wore my calculator out... I tried just about every percentage out from 10% to 50% and looked at what kind of numbers (after the applied bonus) ships from one age would get against another... I was happy with and settled-on the 20% bonus, though I'll admit 10% was a closer consideration then anything higher then 20%. In the end I settled on 20% and treated it like one of those "category promotions" you get all the time... like "20% against cavalry" or "20% against archers". Instead, this is just a built-in "20% against older techs".

I did take a long hard look at some of the "standards" Firaxis had left in the default game though... a Trireme was 50% stronger in combat against a Galley... a SotL was 50% stronger then a Frigate, and the Ironclad was 50% stronger then either the Frigate or the SotL (and of-course the Destroyer was just a little more then 100% stronger then the Ironclad). When I looked at my own new ships, none were 50% stronger then the ships they surpassed... that's why I went with 20% over a smaller 10% bonus.

Like I said earlier though... once the system is in-place it's easy to tweak-it to one's own standards!

BTW do you intend to move to WoC format ?

Forgive my stupidity... what's "WoC" format?

 

[mamba]

Forgive my stupidity... what's "WoC" format?

World of Civilization, a different xml standard which allows for 'partial definitions', thus you only really need to specify the parts you actually changed instead of the entire definition.

This promises to allow for easier merging of mods following the format as there are no technical restrictions any more (just logical ones, e.g. you cannot remove a tech units depend upon).

To make this somewhat less vague, here is an example of your naval units in WoC format

Spoiler :

<Civ4UnitInfos xmlns="x-schema:CIV4UnitSchema.xml">
	<UnitInfos>
<!-- Changed category (age of sail) for Galley -->
		<UnitInfo>
			<Class>UNITCLASS_GALLEY</Class>
			<Type>UNIT_GALLEY</Type>
			<Combat>UNITCOMBAT_SAIL_SHIP</Combat>
		</UnitInfo>
<!-- Combat modifications against age of sail for Destroyer -->
		<UnitInfo>
			<Class>UNITCLASS_DESTROYER</Class>
			<Type>UNIT_DESTROYER</Type>
			<UnitCombatMods>
				<UnitCombatMod>
					<UnitCombatType>UNITCOMBAT_SAIL_SHIP</UnitCombatType>
					<iUnitCombatMod>20</iUnitCombatMod>
				</UnitCombatMod>
			</UnitCombatMods>
		</UnitInfo>
	</UnitInfos>
</Civ4UnitInfos>



<Civ4PromotionInfos xmlns="x-schema:CIV4UnitSchema.xml">
	<PromotionInfos>
<!-- a promotion for an age-of-sail unit  -->
		<PromotionInfo>
			<Type>PROMOTION_COMBAT1</Type>
			<UnitCombats>
				<UnitCombat>
					<UnitCombatType>UNITCOMBAT_SAIL_SHIP</UnitCombatType>
					<bUnitCombat>1</bUnitCombat>
				</UnitCombat>
			</UnitCombats>
		</PromotionInfo>
	</PromotionInfos>
</Civ4PromotionInfos>

If you slice the xml right, there should be next to no dependencies between the mods and it becomes true plug and play. I placed all age-of-sail unit changes in one file, all age-of-steam in another and so on, so each age is pluggable separately

 

[Wolfshanze]

Ah... I see... yes that would seem simpler and better overall... if I didn't already have 1,000 changes in my own mod on the older format!

If I'm not mistaken, I would have to "reverse-engineer" my mod to the new format... and while certainly it would be better in the long-run, I'm not sure I have the fortitude to reverse engineer my mod to that format (even though it is clearly better).

It's kinda like all those great (extensive) Warlords mods that exist... hardly any of them have seen the conversion to BtS format simply because it's a ton of work, even though doing it "the BtS-way" is simpler and easier then "the Warlords way".

My wife already hates how much time I spend on the computer!

 

[mamba]

Ah... I see... yes that would seem simpler and better overall... if I didn't already have 1,000 changes in my own mod on the older format!

If I'm not mistaken, I would have to "reverse-engineer" my mod to the new format... and while certainly it would be better in the long-run, I'm not sure I have the fortitude to reverse engineer my mod to that format (even though it is clearly better).

Yes, it will take a while for larger mods, took me a few days to convert everything to its final form (or at least very close to it), but I prefer the end result over its original form.

It is cleaner and shows what truly belongs together instead of having all kinds of changes for various reasons in one file.

As a first step, you could switch to modular, that is easily achieved and would get rid of all the unchanged baggage you currently carry around Once all the fat is trimmed the actual conversion and separation would begin.

Doing it all at once would be faster I guess, going modular and then WoC is probably safer though.

About 90% of the conversion I did works for regular BtS and the WoC format, there are just some small changes which require WoC. All new definitions (units, art etc.) always will need to remain complete definitions anyway

 

[Wolfshanze]

Pfft... I'm too lazy... I'd do it that way if I was starting from scratch... or if I was single and had no life... but alas, I'm not. I barely have the spare time to do what I'm doing now.