Modders Patch 1.03 Wish List

[Edwin P.]

1. Plans for Moving Naval Units

2. Plans for Moving/Operating Air Units

Plan_ID= 5 (Bombers)

Plan_ID= 6 (Fighters)

3. Global Variable Plan and Plan Parameter

GV Plan Parameter used in Plan, Research, Diplomacy and Production Scripts:

#GV= 3 [20,29] ; (Country Code [Gobal Variable Range]; Triggered if GV is in range of Min,Max (Min 0, Max 100).

4. Garrison Plan with Unit Type Parameter

Goal_Position= 23,54 [unit Type] (default is 0 -Any)

5. Parameter to Included HQ in Amphibious Build_Up

#HQ= 0 or 1 (No or Yes)

6. AI reclaims tech chits

7. Research Plan Paramter for max chits in an tech area - Example:

#BOMBERS= 1 [1][2] - Plan will purchase no more than one chit at a time and have no more than 2 active chits researching Bomber Tech.

#ANTI_TANK= 1 [3][3] - Plan will purchase no more than 3 chits at a time and have no more than 3 active chits researching Bomber Tech.

[ June 15, 2006, 10:06 AM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

[ChrisND]

The #DATE flag changes I mentioned previously

[Major Spinello]

I understand nothing of this, but I think you should be able to script stuff like:

- If country X is liberated by Axis/Allies, then all units with property Y become X-units.

- Country X gets tech-level m of tech n.

- If country X is Axis(Allies) and country Y is occupied by Axis(Allies), then X annexes the former territory of Y.

This should handle inheritance of Free-French units from UK if France is liberated as well as annexation of Vichy-territory by France once Vichy is defeated.

[Honch]

Good list guys, I think that we four are the main modders (Major being a source of ideas) on this site and need Hubert's help.

1. A nice touch would be the UK being able to purchase a limited number of French, Polish, Greek and/or Dutch units after those countries surrender. (Free Forces) This would free up a country slot for me as I have created Free France as a minor country. I would like to use this slot for Abyssinia.

2. I agree with Major, more robust annexation and surrender scripts for the modders.

3. Garrison/Territorial/Low Level infantry or the ability to have Partisans appear in friendly tiles to represent such units.

4. Destroyers.

5. Better yet, a few free unit slots allowing modders to create their own units!

6. Fix the problem of units being kicked out of (or surrendering in)newly created neutral countries such as Iceland and Vichy.

7. Allow units to retain their action points after deselction. I don't know how many times I have accidentally deselected a unit only to lose the ability to move or attack.

8. Allow units to move into coastal tiles that are designated as sea or land-sea.

9. Reduce the chance of damage from storms at sea.

C'mon Hubert, get off your rear, put that beer down, turn off the world cup and get these things fixed!

[dispalor]

I'm not one of the four main modders of this site but please let me add something.

Okay, it's not really important for the main scenario, it's more a kind of having more options for scenarios in general. So it may have a lesser priority than the above posted suggestions (which I want to see in the game, too).

1) As far as I know it's not possible to direct MPP to a power by a script. Would open some nice opportunities for modders. If Germany takes that heavily guarded oil depot, it gets xy points per round like in the standard game, but additionally 300 in the turn of entering because of its storage). Also wishes for diplomatic mods could satisfied by this way. Spain enters the war but wants ressources from germany? Swiss is invaded and the Germans have fun robbing the banks? And so on...

2) Deleting unit improvements. Now it's only possible to buy them, but replacing combat losses may be expensive, so in a defensive state I would sometimes prefere to let that expensive motorization go. I can rebuy it later, if neccessary.

3) Better control of Operating Units. Several possibilites: a) Give modders the chance to modify the costs (the IS-Tech is only a step). Implement maximum level of operations possible per turn. c) Let us determine special cities to have a railway connection or not. It's every time interesting to imagine large parts of the german army operating into sibiria in one turn. Perfect would be a city upgrade. At least it would be nice to are forced to buy infrastructure-points in cities. So it would be more or less expensive to operate units to this or another city.

Furthermore, can you change the Operating-Formular into something like x / 10 * unit-power? Units with a value of 1 are so expensive to operate as units with a value of 10. Or is it intended the way it is?

4) Smaller Nations or Free Units Upgrade. What is the point in having French, Canadian or Romanian Armies. They are just canon fodder.

5) Free Units Nation Change. I don't give them much chance because of the engine, but I would be glad if it's possible. To change the french units in GB after reconquering France would make me very happy.

6) Damn.. can't translate it... :/ if you want to see the game results, let's say the body count, how many units you have lost, you see the percentage what country has lost how much, but you dont see the exact numbers, like in SC1. The game shows only numbers up to 100, what is far too less for my taste.

7) Please change the general value-Maximum. Of course a corpse with more than 25 movementpoints is not very interesting (except perhaps for some weird people), but please imagine a HUGE Map, with Great Britan on the left Ende and Germany on the other End. With an attack range of 25, even with the 5 additional points for the tech, your bombers could just bombard the Ocean.

8) Please let us modify the tech-mechanics. What is the upgradecosts, what does it do? Yesyesyes, it will not be happen.

9) The editor... is there a way to add some features to it? A fill-function would be nice or at least the choice if the main part of the tiles is ocean or land. I created a 256x128-map and it needed centuries just to draw empty land. A fill- function could do that in seconds. Oh yes... and a bigger brush in minutes....

And what about a kind of "smooth-terrain-button", I use that term because I played Warlords back in '98 (?) and the scenario editor had that function. You draw your land and after that the game automatically sets coastlines next to your tiles. If you arent happy with the result, you can still change it manually. At the moment it would take hours and hours to make the coast just for a small map like the Fall Weiß, but it's horrible to do it for a 256x128 map.

Please let me know if something is not to be expected because of the game engine or just nonsense.

[dispalor]

Please let me know if something is not to be expected because of the game engine or just nonsense.

What I really meant, of course, was:

Please let me know if something is not to be expected because of the game engine or just because it's nonsense.

[Major Spinello]

dispalor: these are some very good suggestions. And by the way, despite Dave´s very kind remark, I´m not a modder at all!

[rclawson007]

1. Ability to specify unit type in all Plans. Perhaps this could be implemented as an array variable (total#, min #hq, min #corp, min #army,min #TK,etc.) or (total#, min #sub,min #CR,min #BS,min #Car, min # Trans). Once created, it is simple copy paste and edit. If you just want to specify 5 units without regard to type, then only the total number index of the array would be non-zero.

2. I would like to be able to specify a force composition goal in the purchase scripts. So instead of random chance selecting the unit(s) to purchase each turn, a specific force structure can be built over time. With less trial and error. Changes by date would allow for adjustments (i.e. Russia in particular). That way, when units are eliminated the replacements are prioritized...especially useful if an HQ gets whacked. Of course, this means keeping track of the units in play and already in production, but it seems the engine is doing that already.

3. Specify a max # of chits that can be assigned to each tech and diplo objective. This would even allow one to script a cancellation of already invested chits...potentially useful to have AI counter aggressive diplo.

[rclawson007]

4. Computer vs. Computer play mode to test scripts.

[dispalor]

- Another one: There is no chance to make a deal with neutral nations without a convoy, right? That's very pity. Perhaps you could implement the chance to make "land-convoys". Swiss for example made many nice transactions with the germans.

- Then the Antiaircraft-tech. Its city improvments does only improve the bomber defence, right? Why not the Fighter Defence? At least as an option, perhaps? For different scenarios or different tastes?

[Major Spinello]

dispalor: I do not know whether this is just in Dave´s scenario, but there is Romanian Oil shown in my convoy window. So "land convoys" should be possible already.

I have another one, too:

- The possibility to specify a max-value (from 0 to 10) for a city´s mpp-value. So we could enter many minor cities and still keep the overall mpp-balance. Depending on supply, ATM cities are all either worth 5 or 10 (except if bombed or Malta-effect strikes).

[dispalor]

Oh? Thanks, then I will look into it in detail.

[dispalor]

Three other things:

- Because of the fog of war, you can't see the enemies fighters loss. In reality you would know them, your own pilots will surly tell you their bodycount But it's not a joke, it's important to see them just to see if an air war is good or bad for you.

- Same with MPP losses. My intelligence and the enemies newspapers will gladly offer me information about how devastating my bombing raids were.

- Personally I find the fog of war very interesting. It's a nice thing never to know what the enemy is doing, but your planes can detect everything in a giant area. I think it's to much. Around GB for example, it's impossible to operate, the RAF will immediatly notice you. It would be wonderful, if perception is not a present, but something you have to work for. Something like Detection Air missions were a good idea. I dont give it a chance, but if it's possible it would be great. On the other hand different detection values would be nice. I thought about giving my subs a bigger detection rate, reflecting their ability to get unseen everywhere, but then again they would be able to look far within the land. A difference between Sea and Land Perception would be fine.

[Honch]

I added the Romanian oil to Germany but yes it had to go from a port to a port. But all of the tiles in between can be land!

[dispalor]

Ah, that's not good. I'm dreaming about Swiss and they naturally have only few ports... very few...

I think this would be a nice new element. Just in your example you would be forced to set a port in Romania and that is okay, if you *want* to place it, but perhaps you don't. Then Swiss, Hungary and so on. There must be a way to do it without ports. Perhaps a simple city to city?

[rclawson007]

The ability to have more than one plan.txt file. With Normal Dudes improved AI appended to the "current" Allied AI, the file is 186 pages long. It is difficult to organize and track. Multiple plan files numbered plan01.txt through plan99.txt would make code maintenance and updates FAR easier. Please, Please.

[rclawson007]

Or better, a plan sub-folder where every file is assumed to be a plan script, so each one can be named something strange like Axis_Med.txt

[dispalor]

Not to forget interception for Parachute Trooper. They come with transport planes, so it would be rational to have the ability to damage them before landing.