[Rel] Small Arms Mod

[boog2006]

Status: Released at cmmods.com!

Update from old thread

http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=68;t=000016

This mod is compatible with, and only with (i.e. requires) JSH 1.2. It has the following elements:

Semi-Auto fix mod

-M1 Garand and SVT now fully semi-automatic.

Newly re-animated to eliminated bolt manipulation. Semi-auto rifles out-shoot bolt-action types by about 2:1. It’s only a modest improvement as there is still seems to be careful aiming. But, area fire is done at a rapid rate compared to bolt-action types.

German (and others) MG fix mod

From the info I have, both the '34 and '42 took the same belt type. Belts came from the factory with 50 rounds, but could be linked in the field in any multiple of 50. 250 (5 belt) links were popular because it corresponded to a barrel change.

-Changed the 75 round '34 belt to a 50 round belt

-Made both '34 and '42 compatible with either belt

-The light (bipod) '34 retains the 75 round drum option. Now there is a difference between the drum and the belt though.

-Changed the backpack sets of the heavy '34 and '42 so that there is an option to use the other's belt type.

-Changed the backpack set for all German infantry types (on top of JSH additions) to reflect new MG options.

-Adjusted muzzle velocities to 760 m/s on all MG 34s and 42s.

-Standardized the aiming radii for all LMGs for all nations. Now they are not as accurate as HMGs.

- Further improved the accuracy of HMGs that were tripod mounted with optical sights (Vickers, heavy MG-34, heavy MG-42) relative to other HMGs that used iron sights or were fitted in tanks. (Note there are now three types of MG-34- bipod, tank-mounted, and heavy tripod.)

German MG-26(t) Mod

(picture in thread linked above) I've got the bugs out of it I think.

-Adds MG-26(t) and ammo. Uses Bren exterior but uses penetration data of larger Mauser rounds.

-Adds five new backpack types for various MG-26(t) combos plus rifleman for MG-26(t). Mission builders can choose 20 or 30 round clips.

-Adds new detachment type MG-26t squad (2 men)

Rifle Mod

-All rifles have effective range reduced to 500m. All sniper rifles are to 600m. Hopefully, this helps somewhat with some micromanagement issues with over-engaging.

-Fixed some errors to standardize the aiming radii and dispersion for all rifles and sniper rifles. Aiming radii of sniper rifles each 1/3 that of corresponding iron sight type.

-Fine-tuned some muzzle velocities.

-Increased the reload time of sniper rifles relative to corresponding iron sight types as the scope would have prevented use of a charger. Note this does not effect the Enfield since it’s scope was offset to the side.

-Increased the reload times of Enfield and scoped Enfield equally to show that two chargers had to be loaded.

-Changed the MAS-1907 (which was never called that AFAIK) to the Berthier 1916 version. This better matches the 3D model IMHO. Magazine now five rounds and text changed to show it uses 8mm Lebel, not 7.5mm French.

Any input welcome.

[ March 24, 2008, 06:06 PM: Message edited by: boog2006 ]

[danjeje]

Good work, I thought of doing the same thing for the MG34-42.

The drum of the MG34 use a belt whit 75 rounds.

May be the MG26(t) use a 20 rounds magazine, at least this is what say wikipedia.

[SlapHappy]

I've played around a bit with the data for the MG34 and MG42 HMG's. I upped the accuracy to account for the 4x scope used on these weapons. I made them much more deadly.

However, it is still problematic to create good cover situations for these weapons. It's too easy to wipe out the crews, IMO.

Also there is a bug where the crew will desert the gun and go running around wildly anytime a few rounds strike in close proximity. Sometimes, after a bit, they will re-man the weapon, sometimes they start pinging away with their rifles and forget the MG.

[boog2006]

My source says the MG-26t used a 30 round detachable box, like the Bren.

[boog2006]

Slaphappy, I'd be interested to include the accuracy changes. I guess I assumed they would be different. Could you please post the changes?

[SlapHappy]

Let me see if I can get back my TOW files directory. I think I deleted it, and I may have to re-extract.

Bear with me!

[SlapHappy]

From DATA/GUNS/GER/

[base]

Country Ger

Name 7_92mm_MG_34

[Properties]

Kalibr 0.00792

useHookAsRel False

EffectPreset 007_009mm_Front_auto

Sound weapons.ger.7_92mm_mg_34

EffectMode Auto

Burst 10 12

ReloadTime 4.7 5.8

shotFreq 11.66666

traceFreq 1

Magazines Ger\MG_34_belt Ger\MG_34_Magazin

ammoUsed Ger\7_92x57_Mauser

AimDistance 0 50 100 500 1000 1500 2000

AimRadius 0.01 0.05 0.1 1 2.5 4 4

[Ger\7_92x57_Mauser]

Ammo Ger\7_92x57_Mauser

Speed 785

aimMinDist 2

aimMaxDist 2000

HistMaxDist 2000

Dispersion 100 0.15

LinesH 0 100 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 10000

Lines 0 100 183 238 293 347 400 452 1092

Penetration 11.5 10 4 1.6 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0

This is the data for the German MG-34 HMG.

aimMaxDist represents the farthest range with which the weapon will target enemy units.

AimRadius is cross-referenced to the AimDistance chart in meters. LOWERING each value of AimRadius will INCREASE overall weapon accuracy as the "radius" of error for each round decreases. In fact the AimRadius value is a real value in meters. So the AimRadius for the MG-34 at 2000 meters is 4 meters. That's why DECREASING AimRadius INCREASES weapon accuracy. BTW these values are for perfect marksman (Gunner skill=100), so any skill below that also decreases accuracy from these base values.

[ February 06, 2008, 10:37 PM: Message edited by: SlapHappy ]

[SlapHappy]

BTW, there is a table like this for all gun weapons in the game, so individual tweaking is possible.

[RockinHarry]

Is it possible to fix more of the weapon faults in the game? In example removing german Egg grenade 39 from 1939 infantry (the egg grenade was introduced in 1940!), or removing the Panzerwurfmine (thrown anti tank grenade) from 1944/45 scenarios?

Stick grenade bundles are available for all of the war years, the Hollow charge mine H3 in 1943/44 and from 1944, the Panzerfaust should almost be the only hand held AT weapon for germans. Any other stuff is rather rare and exotic.

[RockinHarry]

Originally posted by SlapHappy:

RE MG34/42 heavy machine gun:

However, it is still problematic to create good cover situations for these weapons. It's too easy to wipe out the crews, IMO.

While the weapon pits in trenches are there, the HMG just don´t fit in, although the trenches are over sized anyway.

The MG 34/42 mounts are fixed in their highest postions in the game, which probably makes them unnecessarily vulnerable. Under the given conditions in the game, the mount should be in the lowest position instead, making the whole thing a way smaller target. Crew is mostly lying prone then.

[boog2006]

RockinHarry, the anachronistic loadouts you describe are the responsibility of the person builting the mission. These can be tweaked in the standard mission editor and no "mod" of gamefiles is necessary.

SlapHapppy, I compared those numbers to the game defaults and actually, yours are less accurate. Furthermore, the HMGs do seem to be more accurate at range than their bipod counterparts already. But what is HistMaxDist 2000 ? Perhaps rifles can be modded so they don't try to engage at crazy ranges anymore and waste ammo.

[RockinHarry]

Originally posted by boog2006:

RockinHarry, the anachronistic loadouts you describe are the responsibility of the person builting the mission. These can be tweaked in the standard mission editor and no "mod" of gamefiles is necessary.

SlapHapppy, I compared those numbers to the game defaults and actually, yours are less accurate. Furthermore, the HMGs do seem to be more accurate at range than their bipod counterparts already. But what is HistMaxDist 2000 ? Perhaps rifles can be modded so they don't try to engage at crazy ranges anymore and waste ammo.

Thanks, good to know! Hopefully Kalypso gets into gear quickly!

From my experiences with other games (and modding) , infantry oftenly starts to get trigger happy if it has any sort of AP (SmkH or Hartkern for germans) ammo for rifles and LMG, thinking it can successfully enganging light armor with it. Dunno.

[SlapHappy]

Originally posted by boog2006:

RockinHarry, the anachronistic loadouts you describe are the responsibility of the person builting the mission. These can be tweaked in the standard mission editor and no "mod" of gamefiles is necessary.

SlapHapppy, I compared those numbers to the game defaults and actually, yours are less accurate. Furthermore, the HMGs do seem to be more accurate at range than their bipod counterparts already. But what is HistMaxDist 2000 ? Perhaps rifles can be modded so they don't try to engage at crazy ranges anymore and waste ammo.

Boog - Those are the game default numbers - not mine. Those numbers came straight from a fresh SFS extract....If you look carefully you will see the AimRadius numbers for all MG's are the same (for all types in the game).

HistMaxDist 2000 means Historical Maximum Distance 2000 meters. It is a reference only and not used to compute real variables in the game.

"Perhaps rifles can be modded so they don't try to engage at crazy ranges anymore and waste ammo."

Yes, they can. That is determined by AimMaxDist value (in meters). Trust me, I've checked these variables in the game fairly thoroughly.

[SlapHappy]

The numbers for the light (or squad) MG34

[base]

Country Ger

Name MG_34

[Properties]

Kalibr 0.00792

useHookAsRel False

EffectPreset 007_009mm_Front_auto

Sound weapons.ger.mg_34

EffectMode Auto

Burst 10 12

ReloadTime 4.7 5.8

shotFreq 11.66666

traceFreq 1

Magazines Ger\MG_34_Magazin Ger\MG_34_belt

ammoUsed Ger\7_92x57_Mauser

AimDistance 0 50 100 500 1000 1500 2000

AimRadius 0.01 0.05 0.1 1 2.5 4 4

[Ger\7_92x57_Mauser]

Ammo Ger\7_92x57_Mauser

Speed 760

aimMinDist 2

aimMaxDist 2000

HistMaxDist 2000

Dispersion 100 0.15

LinesH 0 100 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 10000

Lines 0 100 183 238 293 347 400 452 1092

Penetration 11.5 10 4 1.6 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0

See? The bipod MG34 numbers are the same as the HMG.

[SlapHappy]

Originally posted by RockinHarry:

Is it possible to fix more of the weapon faults in the game? In example removing german Egg grenade 39 from 1939 infantry (the egg grenade was introduced in 1940!), or removing the Panzerwurfmine (thrown anti tank grenade) from 1944/45 scenarios?

Stick grenade bundles are available for all of the war years, the Hollow charge mine H3 in 1943/44 and from 1944, the Panzerfaust should almost be the only hand held AT weapon for germans. Any other stuff is rather rare and exotic.

Agreed...except for the teller mine which isn't in the game at all. It could be modelled, but we wouldn't have a graphic for it.

BTW, the stick grenade bundle can't harm any of the AFV's in the game. In fact, it has the exact same specifications as the single stick grenade....which must have been an omission or error on the designers part.

[SlapHappy]

The Granatbüchse Model 39 was implemented around the beginning of 1942 and could give some AT capabilities for the Germans prior to the fausts.

http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/ttt/antitank-grenade-rifle-panzerbuchse.html

I believe this weapon can be simulated from the parts on hand in the game.

[boog2006]

If you could do that you could model all rifle grenades.

[RockinHarry]

Originally posted by SlapHappy:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by RockinHarry:

Is it possible to fix more of the weapon faults in the game? In example removing german Egg grenade 39 from 1939 infantry (the egg grenade was introduced in 1940!), or removing the Panzerwurfmine (thrown anti tank grenade) from 1944/45 scenarios?

Stick grenade bundles are available for all of the war years, the Hollow charge mine H3 in 1943/44 and from 1944, the Panzerfaust should almost be the only hand held AT weapon for germans. Any other stuff is rather rare and exotic.

Agreed...except for the teller mine which isn't in the game at all. It could be modelled, but we wouldn't have a graphic for it.

BTW, the stick grenade bundle can't harm any of the AFV's in the game. In fact, it has the exact same specifications as the single stick grenade....which must have been an omission or error on the designers part. </font>

[RockinHarry]

Originally posted by SlapHappy:

The Granatbüchse Model 39 was implemented around the beginning of 1942 and could give some AT capabilities for the Germans prior to the fausts.

http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/ttt/antitank-grenade-rifle-panzerbuchse.html

I believe this weapon can be simulated from the parts on hand in the game.

Not to forget the more commonly available german rifle grenades:

Rifle Grenades

and

More rifle grenades

click the pics for more info on the latter page!

Note: German rifle grenades were not introduced in german army before 1942!

[boog2006]

Originally posted by SlapHappy:

Yes, they can. That is determined by AimMaxDist value (in meters). Trust me, I've checked these variables in the game fairly thoroughly. [/QB]

What were your conclusions?

[SlapHappy]

Basically, that all variables perform as I had indicated. But that's only half the battle.

You can go in and give all weapons preset engagement ranges that re the different than the default ones. Right now, almost all rifles will be fired by AI (player or CPU) out to around 2000 meters. You can make that any value you want, but keep in mind that the AI will NOT engage targets past that range ever...not even annoyance fire.

You can also lower inherent accuracy, but it may get really tough for poor marksman to hit much at all. Remember, I said that these numbers are for 100 score marksman...any soldier with lower skill values will suffer even lower accuracy results.

So let's say you decide to simply lower weapon accuracy without tampering with max engagement range. You could run into a situation where troops use up a lot of ammo (all their ammo) and casualties are negligible.

Or you could tamper with both and lower overall lethality and engagement ranges.

Some values I had toyed with:

Rifles: 400 meter engagement range - slight accuracy degradation

BAR: 500 meter engagement range - slight accuracy degradation

LMG: 700 meter engagement range - keep current accuracy values.

HMG: (MG34 and 42) 1200 meter engagement range - double accuracy values

HMG: (others) 800 meter engagement range - keep current accuracy values

I hadn't thought about the sniper rifles much, although they bear scrutiny as well.

The basis for some of this is based on info gathered from this web page:

http://www.angelfire.com/art/enchanter/range.html

[SlapHappy]

One very telling quote from the above-mentioned web page:

"A 7.92mm or lesser bullet takes around a second to reach 600m. In that time an AWARE target can sprint 5-9m :- you don't know which direction he will take and he'll often be darting between cover. Your chance of hitting him with a single aimed shot is virtually random.

I think most shooting was less than 500m because most German riflemen knew there was little point shooting beyond this unless the foe didn't know you were there or you could fill an area of about 10m with bullets."

[SlapHappy]

One other thing that you HAVE TO factor into all of this is soldiers skill levels.

Right now they are all over the map. I understand that the idea was that soldiers would gain experience and such through an ongoing campaign setting. However, I think the game would have a little more consistent results if the scores tended more towards a median value and points gained in experience did so at a much slower rate. Otherwise, we end up with "uber-soldiers" after 2-3 battles.

Keep in mind these realities:

Soldiers with very low marksmanship can't hit much at all.

Soldiers with very low leadership can't be called on to engage a tank with short range AT assets. (have you tried it? Their morale breaks and they crawl away until they regain their composure.)

Soldiers with low scouting values effects more than just sniper units. A soldier with low scouting will almost always be spotted and killed before he can get within range of enemy armor to use AT grenades. However, a soldier with 90-100 skill can get the job done if carefully micro-managed. Unfortunately, pre-generated soldiers tend to have almost 0 skill level in scouting ability. If you have an AT Killer-Hunter team, you'd better make sure their Scout values are high or they will be completely ineffective in the offensive role.

Isolated test scenarios will confirm the types of things I am referring to above.

[RockinHarry]

Do you know how target selection of individual soldiers is applied? Do they choose based on squad (leader) or completely individual, dependent what tehy can see and think what can be hit?

Germans used the rifles in a sort of squad volley, if using the riflemen at all, until they come into very effective range for rifles and depended most of the time on the light machine gun, to help the rifle guys forward for thefinal break into the enemy postions. Yes, that´s no news, but could become interesting when the game uses a squad fire system and no individual fire. Combat Mission and Steel Panthers: World at war are good examples for how squad fire is handled. If there´s no "fire tactic" implemented for sqaud units, then it might be difficult to get reasonable results, just by cutting engagement ranges. However, from my experiences with the SPWAW game, cutting engagement ranges to "effective" or tactical ranges helped very much. The above figures come close to what was used in this game too.

[boog2006]

SlapHappy, my extracted files are not the same as yours, but I haven't extracted since the patch. For some reason, my extractor doesn't seem to be working anymore.