28 replies to this topic

[johnchm.10]

Right then. So, for various reasons, I have decided to make my own modifications to this game and make them available to you, the players, when I am complete, or if you want my files sooner. Here's what I've got.
I am using chih's submod as a basis for my sub-sub-mod.
His submod added additional replay value to an already good mod.
The campaign being referred to is the gffa campaign
What I've done so far:
Almost all prices and times have been lowered.
The starting forces for the alliance have been buffed
All third party units have been removed from the alliance campaign.
Almost all ship-borne compliments have been altered
The Venator now costs more population points
What I plan on doing:
I am going to redo the ships' compliments again, to reflect my recent ideas regarding fighter compliments.
I am going to give the rebel level 5 yard the imperial 1, 2; victory 1, 2; and dominator 3 star destroyers
I am going to remove the third party units from the imperial campaign

[johnchm.10]

so. 2 comment and 2 questions.

comment 1

i have also turned off the Pay As You Go option.

 

Question 1. 

what would be the best way to allow the ISD 1 AND ISD2 to be built without the ISD2 overwriting the ISD1? i have added the ISD's 1 and 2 to the TECH_TREE_REBEL file from the TECH_TREE_IMPERIAL file, changed the respective affiliations, and added the respective research lines to the ISD xml.

 

as an aside, i am thinking that the Victory will require the Republic and the Imperial will require the Victory, with the Dominator requiring the Imperial. 

Question 2.

do i need to add anything to the campaign story path? in this case the STORY_SANDBOX_GALAXY_FAR_FAR_AWAY_R.xml?

 

comment 2:

to elaborate on the new changes i am going to make to the ships' compliments:

ships that tend to favor anti-capitol ship weaponry will receive fighters that are more suitable for taking on other fighters and bombers. i.e the Marauder will start with late model Headhunters, and transition to A-wings. ships that have decent anti-fighter defenses will favor torpedo armed craft, i.e, Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruisers will carry X- and Y-wings

[Iforgot]

Cool, I'm learning to tinker on the xmls myself, I've found some help around the web but is there anywhere special you look to see how to change the files? All I trust myself to change at the moment are he straight numbers like build times and costs. Also I'm right in thinking I can make something unbuildable just by putting 99 in the tech level right? I hesitate to delete entries in case they are required by some other part of the game. I'd be curious to see what all you change.

[johnchm.10]

Depends on the unit I think. If it's a tech level 5 ship, you can take the xml file out of the directory. I'd recommend that you put the file in question out of the pr directory entirely to prevent any issues. If it's an earlier tech ship, you will probably need to adjust the tech tree for some units.
As for changing units, get Notepad++. Makes everything so much easier.
What are you trying to modify in question?

Edited by johnchm.10, 30 July 2014 - 02:39 AM.

[Iforgot]

At the moment I was just doing build times but earlier on before I had PR I had wanted to mod the garrison units that spawned from space stations on the ACM mod. Still may like to mod the ones in PR, but haven't dug in that far yet. 

[a.fake.name]

Hows work going ?
 

[Iforgot]

got the build times increased across the board, playing the last 2 nights to see how it works. Definitely an improvement, feels more like rebellion pace wise. I had made all the times 4x before but may fine tune some higher or lower later on... digging all the hero units but some times the show up with their own ship and some times they hop aboard the nears Marauder to get to a fight, quite the disappointment if you are counting on Dodonna bringing the Haven to a fight and he hitches a ride with Bria instead!

Edited by Iforgot, 05 August 2014 - 07:08 PM.

[johnchm.10]

temporarily suspended for 3 reasons

1: IRL stuff

2: I'm redoing all the fighter compliments, to bring them more in line with canon descriptions, but my process is rather slow, and I'm starting by hand

3: I've got some other stuff in the works

[Iforgot]

Oh whoops, I forgot whose thread this was....

[johnchm.10]

technically i never said that it was MY OWN PERSONAL SUBMOD AND NOBODY ELSE'S, so its cool

[johnchm.10]

 Book2.rar   10.28KB   96 downloads

 

so this is how i am redoing fighters

I have a lot of info here so please bear with me.

questions, comments, suggestions, etc. will be welcome

 

note. Sheet 1 is for Rebel ships, Sheet 2 for Imperial. i have only done buildable, generic ships so far. i shall do the rest on a case by case basis

 

General Information and background information

 

because the main-line Imperial Fighters lack heavy ordnance like missiles and torpedoes, they are grouped more by their assignment than their design

Rebel fighters are more distinct from each other, so they are easier to categorize

 

General Purpose Fighters

these are the bread and butter fighters available on every ship.

 

Interceptors: these little fighters excel against other small craft, but tend to fare poorly against anything larger than a Freighter. typically found aboard Corvettes because of their low footprint, Destroyers and Capital Ships also carry Interceptors to deal with enemy bombers.

 

Imperial: the standard TIE/LN could be considered an interceptor because of its armaments and Imperial Navy doctrine favoring capital ships. these are eventually traded in for the deadlier TIE/IN models and higher level or more important ships eventually receive the even deadlier TIE/AV (TIE Avenger)

Rebel: Early Rebel Interceptors fare better than their Imperial counterparts on account of their shielding and missiles, enabling them to take on early model corvettes. however, the introduction of the TIE/AV brings parity to the Imperial Fleet. the Rebel Fleet begins with the venerable Z95AF4 Headhunter, but eventually trade these in for RZ-1 A-wings.

 

Multi-Role Fighters (Rebel Exclusive): these craft are well balanced craft, with enough speed and maneuverability to play with other small craft, but with the armaments and durability to help take on Frigates and Cruisers. found aboard almost all craft.

 

Imperial: see Imperial Interceptors information

Rebel. the very earliest ships in the Rebel Fleet also begin with Z95AF4 Headhunters, but these are quickly exchanged for the more powerful T65 X-wing. Late model ships trade their X-wings for still powerful E-wings, to deal additional damage to Imperial craft.

 

Bombers: Bombers tend to fare poorly against fighters. however, they can be quite deadly against Frigates and Light Cruisers, as well as capital ships that lack sufficient Anti-fighter weapons

 

Imperial: the TIE/SA serves as the mainstay bomber for the Imperial Fleet. unlike most of her Rebel Counterparts, and even her replacement, the Scimitar Assault Bomber, she carries missiles in addition to her torpedoes, but she still will fare poorly in a dogfight on account of her lack of speed, maneuverability, and in the case of early models, her lack of shields.

Rebel: the very earliest of Rebel Ships carry the BTL-A4 Y-wing, but most of the Rebel Fleet will begin with the improved BTL-S3. the S3 Y-wing will fare better in a dogfight than the basic TIE/SA on account of her shields and the turreted ion cannon, but this is not recommended. the Y-wing will eventually give way to the heavier B-wing, whose greater firepower and ( in the E-models) speed enable it to take on Interceptors with greater success, as well as larger capital ships. these too however are traded in for the BTL-S9 and S10 K-wings, which are powerful enough to present themselves a threat to practically any ship in the galaxy

 

Specialist Fighters: these are found aboard Capital Ships, Battleships, and Dreadnaughts, to add even more firepower to their already extensive arsenal, and to help protect the massive investment these ships are

 

Heavy Bombers (Rebel Exclusive): the Rebels/New Republic Fleet tends to operate smaller and less powerful capital ships than their Imperial Navy counterparts. their most powerful ships are more precious to them than Imperial Ships of similar power. to make up for this shortfall, the largest and most powerful ships in the Rebel/New Republic Navy commonly carry at least one squadron of bombers that are more powerful than the rest. this begins with the B-wing, and eventually is replaced by the K-wing

 

Assault Fighter (Imperial Exclusive): these are either Heavy Fighters or Light Bombers, depending on whom you ask. the Alpha-class gunboat (aka the Xg-series) is faster than most bombers, yet carries a payload equal to or greater than many fighters. these are primarily found aboard Capital Ships. late model Capital Ships however, do away with the Xg-series in favor of what might be the most dangerous TIE-series fighter, the TIE/Defender, or TIE/De.

 

Elite Interceptors (Imperial Exclusive): found aboard the most powerful Capital Ships are often a few squadrons of Elite Interceptors supplementing the "normal" Interceptors. in reality, these are little more than TIE/AV's who will take the lead against any small craft that might be a threat to the Mother-ship, and at least soften them up for the main force of Interceptors

 

Elite Fighters (Imperial Exclusive): the Very Latest Capital Ships of the Imperial Fleet carry at least 1 squadron of TIE/De's as Capital Ships have become fewer and more valuable as the Galactic Civil War has raged on.

 

 

capital ship information:

 

Corvettes: Corvettes are on the low end of the totem pole when it comes to fighter compliments. this is because corvettes are 1, as cheap as some fighter squadrons, 2, not meant to take on larger ships by themselves, 3, tend to favor anti-fighter weaponry, and 4, are large enough to support maybe 1 squadron of fighters. for this reason, I have given Corvettes early model Interceptors 

 

Frigates, Cruisers, and Escort Carriers: these ships have the room to support at least 1 or 2 squadrons of fighters, while usually carrying enough anti-fighter armaments to fend off a squadron or two of bombers. for this reason, i have given these ships fighters, with most carrying a squadron or two of bombers. the exceptions to this rule are Escort Carriers, which carry interceptors as part of their composite wings, Doctrinally important ships that require an escort of at least a Nebulon-B frigate, (the Immobilizer-418), and ships whose anti-capital ship armament is greater than other ships of her size (Strike-class Medium Cruisers)

 

Destroyers: this category is represented only by the Victory and Recusant classes. the Victory gets Fighters and Bombers. the Recusant, having fewer heavy weapons, gets an additional squadron of Interceptors. this way she can send her Fighters and Bombers to assault a target, but still have some defensive fighters

 

Capital Ships: the ISD, DSD, RSD, and MC80 series are represented here. these get at least one squadron each of all three General Fighter classes. most of these get at least one squadron of Specialist Fighters

 

Everything larger: same as the Capital Ships, although there are greater numbers of fighters 

 

 

Progression System

 

I have it so that each Fighter class has three variants before being upgraded to the next fighter. I did this because of a few reasons. it started with my trimming down of the X-wings. i have it so that only the C, F, and I models are in use by the Alliance Fleet. I like my 100 MGLT X-wings, and for some reason, I don't like the J-series. it ended up like this. i also figured that at a certain point, its better to trade in an upgraded ship for a new ship, like going from the TIE/LN x3 to the TIE/IN.

TIE/LN > TIE/LN x2> TIE/LN x3> TIE/IN> TIE/IN x2>TIE/IN x3> TIE/AV> TIE/AV x2> TIE/AV x3

 

so that's what i've got. feel free to take the list apart and put it back together. I know its not perfect. there are special cases like the Lancer-class Frigate where it carries the Armament of a Corvette. and I have been putting this together long enough that i need a new set of eyes.

 

oh and I know that I probably should have put this at the beginning, but I plan on adding transports back to the ships, but I wanted to get the fighters done first, and I really don't feel like scrolling back up (I'm uploading this from my phone, and it doesn't like scrolling up)

Edited by johnchm.10, 09 August 2014 - 06:59 AM.

[johnchm.10]

Any input guys?

[megabalta]

I like the idea of 3 levels of upgrades per unit. It might be 4 but that would be more than enough. I'd recommend to use that for starships too (well, in case you want to mod them from this aspect), I don't think 8 levels for corvettes 6 levels for frigates are really needed. 3 or 4 levels would be ideal to reduce a great chunk of galactic lag.

 

I'm doing some modding myself for land combat to implement mixed infantry units. Since this means they contain more than one type of soldier, I have to rewrite their research and upgrade system too. For now my new model contains 3 upgrade levels, which I've tried to keep canon and simple but rewarding. The first/starting level is the basic type, suited more for piece time with basic weapons and tactics (-2 BBY). The second upgrade is for an escalating conflict, it's what you've seen in the movies and games between 2 BBY and the battle of Endor. The third and final level is for the post Endor period with the most modern and advanced weapons, armors and tactics for a bitter war.

 

Could someone summarize (or point me to) the research/upgrade system of Chih's submod? I've never played it but I'm really curious how he connected things with snubcraft researches and upgradable complements.

Edited by megabalta, 11 August 2014 - 03:24 PM.

[johnchm.10]

1: that one started because i don't like 80 MGLT X-wings (the A and B-models) or the J series (i have them only on the Rebel Hero Dominator-3's.)

2: i consider even the smallest capital ships investments.

3: okay, for the Initial Corvette thing, that was an oversight on my part. Chih's submod only has the final 3 iterations of the CR90 as having Hanger Facilities. I was kinda hoping nobody would catch this until i was done with my revised sheet. he also starts off with the Recusant Mk.2

4: Chih's submod is kinda interesting in that regard:

the Capships available to the Rebels in Tech Level 1 are the CR90, Dreadnaught, and Recusant. the Empire gets the Dreadnaught, Venator, Carrack, and Acclamator. Tech 2: Rebel: Nebulon-B, Marauder, DP20. Empire: Bayonet, Nebulon-B, Imperial, Victory. TL3: Rebel: Bulwark, CC9600, Assault Frigate. Imperial: Immobilizer, Executor, Lancer, Strike. TL4: Rebel: Republic. Empire: Dominator, Modular, Sovereign. TL5: Rebel: Hajen and Sacheen.

the following Capships are absent from his Tech Levels: all the Mon-cal Ships, the Heavy Cargo/Escort Carriers, the Praetor, perhaps 1 or 2 others. i'm going to edit these back in shortly.

as for Fighters, He has the Rebels start off with Mark-2 Starchasers, Z95t Headhunters, i think A4 Y-wings. the empire gets standard TIE Fighters, and i think TIE/SA Bombers

 

 

I'm going to put some notes in the Revised Sheet, should anyone wish to mod my mod of chih's submod to this awesome mod

[megabalta]

Actually I was referring to the number corvette and frigate hull model upgrades, but upon closer look you're seem to making a starfighter/complement mod only, so it's irrelevant.

I'm curious about the upgrade system: if you upgrade a starfighter on the galaxy map in the submod, does it upgrade the ship complements of that kind of starfighter too on already built/later built starships? Are the independent starfighter upgrades (e.g. Awing mk1->mk2) on the galaxy map connected to the starship complements somehow?

[johnchm.10]

i'm trying to bring a little more realism into the mod.

 

Starship Compliments and Standalone Starfighter units are separate and independent from each other. and here's why.

the Alliance has its Fleet, as well as it's Starfighter Corps, which is considered a separate branch from the Fleet. the Fleet's Budget on Starfighters is probably lower than that of the Starfighter Corps, so they have to be more wise when it comes to procurement. that's why, 1, there are no Initial Variants of fighters or Prototypes. 2, I kept the manufacturers list down as much as possible (to increase the compatibility of spare parts and weapons magazines 3, barring the K-wing, i kept it so that only Missiles and Torpedoes were carried aboard ships with a fighter compliment. more variety equals fewer warheads of a specific type.

 

i have still yet to do transport compliments.

[megabalta]

Sounds logical. What about the imperials, they don't have a Starfighter corps. Do you want to keep hyperdriveless tie craft on the galaxy map as buildables?

Edited by megabalta, 11 August 2014 - 10:18 PM.

[johnchm.10]

Yeah. For a few reasons.
1. Elite fighter units like the 181st exist. They need to be built.
2. There have been worlds where their only spaceborne craft have been ties, like Borlieas. There are probably some worlds which are only valuable enough to rate only a squadron of fighters. Technically, the build cost could be merely the transportation cost of delivering the ties to the planet.

[Iforgot]

What about a sort of "starfighter base" building for non hyperdrive units like ties?

[megabalta]

I was thinking about the same thing.

In fact for all non-complement snubcraft, there could be a requirement of a ground/space base to actually be above a planet. If there's no base, they'd automatically pull back to nearest planet with one (like a retreat, only without battle). The reason beeing that no small craft could exist in space without somekind of a home base. They could raid and travel through a planet though, just not stay there. Gameplay wise it could limit their usage. I'm not sure however, that it's possible to mod.