FotS Modification wishes

[bkajfasz]

I have read through most of the other post and concure on most issues. Battles are far too short, with unit sizes of only 200 men at maximum and even the baseline levy infantry's rifles being very accurate and deadly, units are destroyed very quickly. Same with naval battles. Ships burst into flames at the drop of a hat and exploded far too often. I had ships blow up in every naval battle Ive fought. Ships are too fast in my opinion as well. So to reiterate...

-increased unit sizes
-reduced accuracy/damage
-range tweeks (more for arty, less for early game rifles maybe seeing as they were obsolete)
-slower ship movement
-stronger hulls
-SMOKE! I miss N:TW smoke. (although i do realize that less guns and better powder means less smoke)

And finally i feel like theres barley any reason on either side to use the old style units. I have played as both the Imperial and Shogunate forces, and on both sides basically just found myself making a mad dash for the best rifle units. My current game i made a concious effort not to moderize, but still hit level 4 pretty fast and havent used my kachi units much. I dont know if its feesable, but I'd like to see either better bonus's for staying traditional, or bigger penalties for modernizing.

Does anyone else feel like siege battles are a joke now?

[The dead one]

If itīs possible, can you enable 40 units in the campagne ? that would be awesome

[The dead one]

Nope, I like the sieges

[Wolfiefang]

Well since everyone have pretty much said and repeated a lot of the basic fixes. I want to just re state the need to separate the unit types. They balanced the game so you could play Avatar Conquest FotS vs Shogun 2.... so that's the why with range issues, but I still think they where silly with not making them all a little different.

Big deal for me; please keep sharpshooters slower firing, slightly more accurate at longer range, and still able to stay hidden while firing. I kinda hoped they'd be more like how bows are currently used in the game... and they get the bonus of firing over troops =( Just keep them the annoying unit the pecks at you from outside of your range when you fix all the ranges.

[Elianus]

Something needs to be done about ''light infantry''. The sharpshooters and tosa riflemen (as I already mentioned these guys might also need a buff in reload speed as they had repeating rifles) behave like normal line infantry (but only the first row can fire).

[PT_ReVoLuTioN]

Bayonets !!! i demand bayonet fights!! i want to see troops equipped with bayonets both Japanese and foreign, i really dont understand why the hell CA didn't implement them only elite japanese troops should use katanas, the levies would use bayonets (or no melee weapon at all) cause it has cheaper and used worldwide .

[Toasty Fresh]

I haven't tried Darthmod for Shogun 2 but I'm going to try it as soon as the FoTS version is out. A couple requests:

-Perhaps make naval tweaks optional? I'm not sure if this is possible or practical, however I like the naval battles just as they are, regardless of inaccuracies. This is a very minor request but it would still be appreciated if it was implemented.

-Projectiles: I don't like a complete lack of tracer trails but I do like a toned-down version of the effect. If possible, an optional version should remove the strange heat distortion effect that bullets seem to have (unless I'm going insane, but I swear the effect is there), and the while trails should be reduced by a large amount. I like to see where my units are firing, and I also think it looks cool, however it is overdone a fair amount.

-Gun smoke and muzzleflash: The gun smoke seems incredibly strange to me at the moment. It does not seem to move anywhere, unlike in Napoleon where it would slowly float across the battlefield. Also, it could be made more transparent to reflect the advances in gunpowder technology. As for the muzzleflash, the red flash thing is just bloody ugly. If it can't be altered it should be removed completely. It definitely needs toning down, and replacing with a new sprite of some kind.

Kudos for accepting feedback, sir!

[salerman33]

well thank you darth for your mod and thank you for asking us i have been a fan of your mod since empire and i think the empire mod is the best one

i like to see better smoke and maybe if possible to make the accurate of the guns like fever away less accurate closer more accurate like u have in the empire mod
and thank you again My lord

[southfillyboy2p0]

Somethings off with gatling guns. Perhaps an accuracy boost? I get way more kills using 1st person than letting the ai do its thing.
The rate of fire for the tower defences is so low that their almost useless.
Also I think the magic stack spam is back.

[Maledon]

Hi,

Been a huge fan of DM so thank you for the hard work.

I was wondering if it was possible to make an option for the blood and carnage of the blood pack and ground scarring of artillery last till the end of a battle?

Right now it kills emersion to see craters disappear and the casualties reset to the non-blood pack state after a few seconds.


Thanks!

[Lito]

Don't know if its possible but when arty makes a crater and you yank your squad in it, maybe give it some minor cover bonus, from small arms that is.

[cur]

i agree with the most comments made so far.

particular withe a noticeable distinction between the different rifletypes and the introduction of bayonets!

but what concerns the precision, range and damage of "modern" rifles i would go the different way.
take a look on the fast made changes in infantry-formations and -movements made by germans in the french-german war of 1870/71! the french had a more modern rifle (chassepot) than the germans and often start fire at 1200 meters, at least at 600 meters with a very lethal effect for the attacker! an aimed shot could find its target on 1000 meters! therefore the germans changed there formations from american civilwar-like biger lineformations in the beginning of the war to smaler groups running from cover to cover later in the war.
historians have proofed, that for example the casualties in the american civilwar were so extremely high because of the unpleasant combination of new rifles and old tactics.
i did not studied the infantry tactics of the japanese in the timeframe but it could be historically correct, that the infantry formations were organized in this lineformations like in the game.

therefore i would suggest to make the changes on the rifles optional. i respect, if people want to have less accuracy and damage for the riflefire for the sake of gameplay or tactical options, but it would be nice, if you have the chance to keep or implement the options of the changed way of warfare wich is inter alia the lethality of the contemporary rifles.

[DARTH VADER]

It is very important to give your opinions specifically in this thread because you narrow down problems of the original game settings that you wish are corrected. I am very happy with what I have read so far and I agree with almost everything you say, because you use common sense and you desire realism. Especially for the below I have to say:

-Naval battles: Certainly I will make the ships to turn around realistically (I cannot understand CA why they like this rapid turning around for their games) and to aim realistically (the ridiculous 100% accuracy is already fixed in DMS 3.45 but I will have to mod more files to perfect it, once they are open).
-Unit Accuracy: Ridiculous again how the units aim like sharpshooters... I cannot describe how much I dislike this. Even with modern rifles a troop cannot shoot so accurately because of many factors. Already this is bettered with DMS 3.45 but will improve in future versions when I have access to more files. (Not to mention the laser traces combined with this accuracy.. I cannot bare these visuals).

Cannot write more right now but I hope you play right now FotS with DMS 3.45 so to give your specialised feedback for the mod in this thread as well: DarthMod: Shogun v3.45 Feedback

[Jihada]

Republic is very hard. Is it possible to give Republic an agent ,perhaps the Shinsengumi type to have a chance to convert other provinses ?
I don't agree with reducing rifle accuracy or range. The melee troops seem overpowered to me atm and this was a period where they were eventually beaten by rifle infantry.As CA has omitted bayonets they are more prone to destruction by Cavalry frontal charge than the line infantry in ETW,which is ridiculous.Crimea and ACW saw the end of cavalry as a main battle factor and their role became more skirmishing or flanking in attack or defence.

[valky]

Ironclads: as mentioned in several other topics/threads..the Ironclad - specially Warrior class - is way over the edge! The L'Ocean feels rather like a bad joke...

Possible to change the movement points, if a units flees? While I ignored it in RotS in becomes even worse in FotS - specially ships. It's nearly impossible to catch a fleeing AI unit and it sometimes feels like they are given a boost so you CAN'T catch up!
Or instead of Movement points you'd lower the fleeing-chance, so you'll end up more likely in a battle, if the forces are at least even.

For land units I don't mind, that's what agents are good for (freaks me out anyway ^^)

[jnumber9]

hello. maybe it is not necessary, but I think the rifle militia should be buffed, because right now this unit is such a joke! they shoot just once, killing 2-3 enemies and die\panic swiftly. why spend 500 currency at this completely useless unit?

[Hippob4]

Optional Backpack Mod.

I know some people prefer having their modern units with backpack/gear and others don't. For me, the backpack adds more detail to each unit (attempt at de-cloning) and I'm just use to it because I'm use to seeing it in films (even though it may be historically inaccurate)

Therefore, I would like a mod that adds backpacks to most 'modern'-based infantry IF wanted (could be ticked off or on in a future launcher like in DMUC)

[Commodore Squishy]

Hello Darth,

Firstly, I am an avid fan of your fantastic work, I must have racked up over 700 hours on your mods for Empire through to Shogun 2! Despite the arcade style battles FotS is possibly my favourite total war yet (definitely as vanilla), however I believe with your talents it could become a true masterpiece! Along with the standard Darthmod brilliance I have several suggestions/wishes based on my experiences so far (have played Satsuma through to turn 300ish);

Accuracy/Kill rate/battle speeds

While I do love this game, the battles really are a case of lining your army up and watching them massacre all comers over the next 5 minutes, its hardly strategy... Whilst the rifles of the 1860-70s were far superior to Napoleonic matchlocks the orgy of death does seem a little over the top. As you mentioned there are many factors which affect a units accuracy, not least to mention the line tactics suggested by this game! That and the gradual fouling of the musket through repeated use would drastically reduce their efficiency, I read somewhere that the dreyse needle rifle got clogged with the residue from the paper cartridges after just a few shots (>10), preventing the breech from closing fully and burning the users face and hands when fired, resulting in many prussian soldiers resorting to firing from the hip (quotation needed ). I'm not sure what the fatigue tables affect, but would it be possible to implement a larger decrease in accuracy per stage to represent the deteriorating condition of the weapons? not to mention the clouds of smoke (smokeless gunpowder still wasn't around IIRC). The fact that fatigue regenerates when idle would represent the ability of the soldiers to clean their weapons in... certain ways... The revolver and carbine cavalry are ridiculous however, those revolvers seem more effective than three units of republic infantry...

Ammunition/Arty

I suppose it's in keeping with the short battles, but surely a Gatling gun carried around more than 30 seconds worth of bullets? I know that Foreign Agents and Generals can increase this but still. I could branch into an interesting side effect of modernisation, i.e. to represent the large amount of imported weapons base ammo values could be low, but with each high tier factory or arsenal built increasing the ammo capacity by say 1-5% to represent the switch to industrialisation? On a related note the smokeless artillery and Gatling guns may be a side effect of incorporating that peculiar though entertaining 3rd person mode... (you wouldn't be able to aim very well if your Gatling gun filled the battlefield with smoke) And one more thing, i presume it is impossible to mod but just in case, I don't suppose there is any way to change how artillery targets a unit? having 4 armstrong or gattling guns pummel the single nearest soldier from a unit seems just a little harsh.

Naval Warfare
Again, despite much criticism, my favourite naval battles so far. Still, there are far too many explosions... Fires seem reasonable considering explosive shells signaled the end of wooden warships, but maybe the moral impact should be lowered. And ironclads/armoured ships seem a little fragile. I would personally prefer it if they went out of action due to lack of guns/crew rather than over exposed boilers and ammo dumps. With regards to the debate about L'Ocean and the Warrior that might be solved if there is a mod-able armour value (I have defiantly seen the Warrior take a full round shot broadside with out the advisor warning my admiral is under attack until the next shot...) If this value exists a large buff to L'Ocean's armour would be nice. I would argue that the Warrior would have more hitpoints simply due to it's shear size, but then I'm English so... Also, increased gun range relating to calibres, and drastically reduced accuracy, if only because nothing looks better than shell splashes around a distant ship It would also be nice if some enemy fleets stayed in their ports, I have yet to engage in one of these much vaunted port battles despite having a 4 fully iron clad/armoured fleets!

Technology
Slower passage to modernisation, I was full 4stars modern by turn 40 odd and didn't suffer a single samurai revolt (Even when becoming a republic!). Also, light infantry tactics for sharpshooters/tosa riflemen if possible! In face of the overwhelming artillery towards the end of the game it might be interesting to allow line infantry this tactic as a high end military tech aswell... increased ammunition techs would be nice aswell, along with the standard better/more railways etc. It would be nice if you could have all nations trade docks aswell, assuming no-one else has built one yet.

I hope some of that was useful/possible! Keep up the good work!

[SillySausage]

I want to have more militia units!
and muzzleloaders for emperors infantry. i used to have a very modern army at the start of a campaign, and it is ridiculous to see the soldiers running around with enfield sniders to the end of 1866.

[SillySausage]

I want to have more militia units!
and muzzleloaders for emperors infantry. i used to have a very modern army at the start of a campaign, and it is ridiculous to see the soldiers running around with enfield sniders to the end of 1866.