Increasing roads importance for movements and decreasing off road movements on campaign map

[Falcon]

Does anyone know how to mod so that armies will only be able to move using roads on the campaign map?
In all warefare, roads is the key to for movement of armies and thus cities/villages with significant road networks are key strategic points. So if anyone knows how to mod so that roads increase in importance and off road movements significantly reduced for movement of armies, please tell me, or if even better if that person could make it happen. This would force the AI to use roads to a larger extent, and thus holding cities and crossroads will be of greater importance. This would vastly increase the strategic placement of armies and thus make the game even more entertaining and realistic compared to vanilla version in which armies more or less can traverese freely in all directions of the campaign map - both on road and off road.

[Serenissima]

I'm fairly certain that this isn't possible, but my knowledge is pretty limited.

[Falcon]

Well, your knowledge is probably bigger than mine :-). But isn't the campaign map divided into smaller fragments each assigned different values for movements? I hope you are wrong Serenissima, but then again we're talking about CA as the game designer, and they don't exactly focus on in- depth-strategy.

[Beastro]

I doubt the AI can handle it while it'll only increase your upper hand over it.

But I do like the idea, it would make fortress' and frotress placement very valuable.

[Falcon]

I doubt the AI can handle it while it'll only increase your upper hand over it.

But I do like the idea, it would make fortress' and frotress placement very valuable.

Exactly! I know you can alternate the movement points using pack manager and the file campaign variables in the main.pack, but those files doesn't let you make those more specific changes I wish for. Is there any genius out there who knowes how to solve this issue?

[hitokiri2486]

Probably something we can't mod; and if we could, we'd have to wait until there are some more powerful mod tools available concerning the campaign map.

It's a good idea though, it would make campaign map movement actually strategic for once. If it is possible, it would be awesome with the MP campaign...

[Johan217]

Does anyone think the road upgrades should be harder to get? More expensive or more turns to build?

[sage2]

To the OP: this is in fact quite possible. There is a value that controls the number of movement points that units get (on or off road). Then, roads have a % bonus reducing the cost of movement. So, to do what the OP suggests one would make the number of movement points quite low, but increase the size of the bonus road movement gives.

TROM already significantly increases the bonuses for road movement, but it's not coupled with a general decrease in movement as the OP suggests. This is an interesting idea. I'm not sure how the AI would handle it -- perhaps not too poorly, actually -- since the AI can't really think more than a turn ahead anyway.

To Johan: I think it might be worth while to significantly increase the time it takes to upgrade them (perhaps +50%), and perhaps cost somewhat as well -- the upgrades seem to happen quite early.

[Falcon]

To the OP: this is in fact quite possible. There is a value that controls the number of movement points that units get (on or off road). Then, roads have a % bonus reducing the cost of movement. So, to do what the OP suggests one would make the number of movement points quite low, but increase the size of the bonus road movement gives.

TROM already significantly increases the bonuses for road movement, but it's not coupled with a general decrease in movement as the OP suggests. This is an interesting idea. I'm not sure how the AI would handle it -- perhaps not too poorly, actually -- since the AI can't really think more than a turn ahead anyway.

Yes, I've asked some other skilled modders like you and several seem to think that this is possible, but no one has tried it yet, and no one describes in more detail how this could be possible. Which files should you open with the pack file manager? My guess is the main.pack->Campaign variables->Road_level_X_action points_costs (where x=0-4) and if so,does level 0 represent off road movements and 1-4 represent on road movements? Please, give me more details on where I can find the required files to experiment with, or even better - you do it, given that you are vastly more skilled than me, oh mighty one . Thanks for the reply!

[Shaggy1973]

It would be kind of groovey if you could have different movement points for different units on the campaign map. Similar to cavalry being quicker on the CM, perhaps scout units such as rangers and all indian units could move fast cross-country, while line units/cannons move very slowly. You could then get some real gorilla type movement going with ranger raids etc.

I kinda hoped they could do something with ships too. Traders move very far, small ships almost as far, then progressively less for each subsequent class of ship until heavy first rate that really becomes kind of pointless to move away from your own coast line. Giving smaller sized ships more of a role in protecting merchant shipping. Pirates would then be more of a threat as they could compete vs these less powerful convoys.

Anyone think that shipyards should really only be buildable in larger cities? The more powerful warships should be quite rare far away from europe.

[Falcon]

It would be kind of groovey if you could have different movement points for different units on the campaign map. Similar to cavalry being quicker on the CM, perhaps scout units such as rangers and all indian units could move fast cross-country, while line units/cannons move very slowly. You could then get some real gorilla type movement going with ranger raids etc.

I kinda hoped they could do something with ships too. Traders move very far, small ships almost as far, then progressively less for each subsequent class of ship until heavy first rate that really becomes kind of pointless to move away from your own coast line. Giving smaller sized ships more of a role in protecting merchant shipping. Pirates would then be more of a threat as they could compete vs these less powerful convoys.

Anyone think that shipyards should really only be buildable in larger cities? The more powerful warships should be quite rare far away from europe.

I think you can alter each units individual movement points, I think it is under unit tables. But let us stick with the issue concerning road and off road movements

[Yarkis de Bodemloze]

Is there a vaule which determines field of view for each unit on the campaign map?

[sage2]

Yes, I've asked some other skilled modders like you and several seem to think that this is possible, but no one has tried it yet, and no one describes in more detail how this could be possible. Which files should you open with the pack file manager? My guess is the main.pack->Campaign variables->Road_level_X_action points_costs (where x=0-4) and if so,does level 0 represent off road movements and 1-4 represent on road movements? Please, give me more details on where I can find the required files to experiment with, or even better - you do it, given that you are vastly more skilled than me, oh mighty one . Thanks for the reply!

That's the right place.

Zero is an unimproved road, i.e. mud.

To modify off road movement, you need to change unit movement points, in the units_table.

[sage2]

Is there a vaule which determines field of view for each unit on the campaign map?

Not that I have found.

[sage2]

It would be kind of groovey if you could have different movement points for different units on the campaign map. Similar to cavalry being quicker on the CM, perhaps scout units such as rangers and all indian units could move fast cross-country, while line units/cannons move very slowly. You could then get some real gorilla type movement going with ranger raids etc.

I kinda hoped they could do something with ships too. Traders move very far, small ships almost as far, then progressively less for each subsequent class of ship until heavy first rate that really becomes kind of pointless to move away from your own coast line. Giving smaller sized ships more of a role in protecting merchant shipping. Pirates would then be more of a threat as they could compete vs these less powerful convoys.

Your suggestions are already in Vanilla, although the differences are small. In TROM, the differences in Campaign movement speed have been quite exagerated. For example, a guerilla unit has about 2x the movement of an early artillery unit. First and second rate shipts likely have a significantly slower movement allowance.

[Shaggy1973]

Yes it is there, I just thought it might be fun to exagerate even more. I guess as usual the AI would probably be the limiting factor here though.

[Johan217]

Ideally, there should also be a way to tell the AI how to use specific units. E.g. light cavalry for raids, frigates for scouting... As it is now, I am seeing raids by lone artillery units - which just isn't right.

Especially in the Americas I think the roads infrastucture should be restricted. Louisiana and the 13 Colonies are very keen to upgrade to paved roads and star forts early. Speaking of which... would there be a way to restrict fort upgrades in certain regions? Seeing a star fort deep in the American wilderness feels out of place. I'd tear them down once I control them but apparently you can't destroy forts on the campaign map.