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Thread: Selahedīn's Naval Balance Mod (v0.5)

  1. #1
    Selahedīn's Avatar Biarchus
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    Default Selahedīn's Naval Balance Mod (v0.5)


    Summary:

    The purpose of this small modification is to add some excitement to naval warfare and trade. This is done by giving each port type the most basic functions of the other and improving the naval recruitment capabilities of the seafaring nations.

    Single-port factions (like Portugal, Batavian Republic, Sweden, etc.) will no longer be forced to decide between exporting their goods and producing warships. They will develop proper defensive fleets, right from the start, and their economies will be more stable because of it. Gaining control of the trade theatres will also be far more challenging, for the player.

    This Mod is NOT about realism, it's about balance. And fun. However, the "basic functions" mechanic only aims to emulate the existance of other, less revelant ports/shipyards, along your coast. Your "main port" will simply represent your nation's priority, in terms of naval development.

    Changes:
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    • Shipyards grant 1 extra trade route, by sea.
    • Dockyards grant 2 extra trade routes, by sea.
    • Steam Drydocks grant 3 extra trade routes, by sea.

    Explanation: Factions without trading ports were unable to effectively export their goods. That was incredibly crippling for their economies. Seeing as the AI never changes port types, I believe this to be a necessary adjustment. These bonuses are only half as effective as those given by commercial ports, though

    • Shipyards have an export capacity of 20
    • Dockyards have an export capacity of 50
    • Steam Drydocks have an export capacity of 80

    Explanation: Regular shipyards give a slightly smaller bonus to export capacity, than trading companies. This "handicap" is necessary to keep trading ports more attractive, from a purely economic perspective.

    • Trading Ports have 1 recruitment slot.
    • Commercial Ports have 2 recruitment slots.
    • Trading Companies have 3 recruitment slots.

    Explanation: This change is necessary to allow those factions without shipyards (Portugal, Sweden, Batavian Republic, etc.), to build defensive fleets in a timely fashion. A single slot was not enough, imho.

    • Trading Ports can build Sloops-of-War and Brigs.
    • Commercial Ports can build 24/32-gun Frigates and 50/64-gun Ships-of-the-Line
    • Trading Companies can build 74/80-gun Ships-of-the-Line.

    Explanation: Again, factions without shipyards should still be allowed to build proper defensive fleets, right from the start. Now trading ports can build all but the largest Ships-of-the-Line (1st Rates and Heavy 1st Rates).
    Also, it was slightly insulting to see nations like Portugal, Denmark or Sweden reduced to Merchantmen spam...


    • The Carronade technology is required to build Steam Drydocks.
    • The Improved Coppering technology is required to build Trading Companies.

    Explanation: A lot of factions simply didn't have the means to satisfy the previous technology requirements of these two buildings. That means that they never upgraded from tier 2...
    These two naval technologies are much easier to get and should allow the AI to keep investing in its naval facilities.


    • All seafaring factions can build 80-gun 2-Deckers
    • All seafaring factions can build 106-gun 3-Deckers.
    • All seafaring factions can build 122-gun 3-Deckers.
    • Sweden can build Galleys.

    Explanation: If there is to be any form of balance, all factions must have access to the same naval units (with a few, very specific exceptions).
    Also, if they can afford it, why shouldn't they be able to have intimidating flagships? Why shouldn't they be able to compete? If a smaller faction suddenly (and unhistorically) expands and gains the means (and the need) to support a more powerful fleet, why shouldn't they be able to do so?


    • Steam Ships removed.

    Explanation: I removed Steam Ships, not because of realism (I leave that to other mods), but because they annoy me to no end. In my opinion, they just drain the fun right out of naval warfare, due to their upwind sailing capabilities.

    • The Ottoman Empire can build Merchantmen and Dhows.

    Explanation: It was ridiculous for the Ottoman Empire to be the only major faction without recruitable trading ships. That has been fixed...


    Notes:

    This mod is 100% open-source! If anyone wants to explore the contents of this file and use what's inside for their own benefit, they are free to do so. I would appreciate it if you gave me credit for the parts you end up using, but even that is not mandatory...

    Compatibility:

    At the moment of testing (17/04/2010), this mod appeared compatible with most major mods, as well as vanilla NTW.

    Credits:

    Special thanks to LtChambers, Erasmus777, husserlTW and The Vicar, for their incredible Pack File Manager. None of this would be possible without it.

    Also, big thanks to Dogmeat, for his superb Tyrant Mod, which inspired some of these changes. Keep up the good work, mate!

    Installation:

    For now, this mod is provided as a "movie pack", so it only requires a simple drag-and-drop installation.

    Just extract the "selahedins_naval_balance.pack" file into your "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\napoleon total war\data" folder and start the game as usual.

    Download:

    Selahedīn's Naval Balance - Version 0.5 (MediaFire)

    Enjoy...
    Last edited by Selahedīn; March 28, 2011 at 03:29 PM.

  2. #2

    Default Re: Selahedīns Mini-Mods: Naval Balance (0.1)

    Hopefully Darth will include this in his mod too

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Selahedīns Mini-Mods: Naval Balance (0.1)

    Just a question: Which files have you specifically edited?

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Selahedīns Mini-Mods: Naval Balance (0.1)

    Quote Originally Posted by Emilio Aguinaldo View Post
    Hopefully Darth will include this in his mod too
    Wasn't even aware that Darth was working on an NTW mod (or maybe you were talking about his ETW one).

    Would be glad if he did use it, though.

    Quote Originally Posted by ultimation View Post
    Just a question: Which files have you specifically edited?
    All I've altered so far were the building_effects_junction_tables (to give Shipyards the + trade bonus), the building_units_allowed_tables (to give trading ports the ability to recruit warships) and the units_to_groupings_military_permissions_tables (to activate the Ottoman Dhows). All from the original data/patch.pack db.

    I only export the rows that I've added/editted, so as to avoid further complications with other mods.
    Last edited by Selahedīn; April 08, 2010 at 06:23 PM.

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    Default Re: Selahedīns Mini-Mods: Naval Balance (0.1)

    Version 0.2 released!
    (No longer available)

    With changes made to reflect the status of the Imperial Russian Navy, as the 3rd most powerful of the Napoleonic era.
    Last edited by Selahedīn; April 16, 2010 at 11:31 PM.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Selahedīn's Naval Balance Mod (v0.2)

    Version 0.3 released!
    (No longer available)

    I have attempted to increase the scope of the mod, by including several changes to the way warships maneuver and behave in battle.

    Naval battles will now be more frequent, have better fleet compositions, and will also be far more challenging. So be warned... thinking ahead is crucial! That no-sail zone is a killer...




    Edit: I've been tinkering with the idea of removing Prussia's ability to produce large warships altogether.
    It would certainly be a fair representation of their views regarding naval development during this period, and it would keep the Prussian AI from ever trying to compete with the great naval powers (not that I've seen it happen yet). I'm just not sure it would be fair to the player.

    Even games based on realism, such as Europa Universalis, allow the player to change the core characteristics of his faction (at a great cost, of course). Who am I to say you shouldn't be able to turn Prussia into a strong naval power, if that is what you really want? It obviously increases replayability!

    Not only that, but a lot of players continue their NTW campaigns far beyond the Napoleonic Wars (I know I do), and the truth is that, after that period, Prussia did begin building its own coastal defense fleet.

    So I guess for now, their recruitment capabilities will remain the same. Unless people start complaining about it, of course...
    Last edited by Selahedīn; April 16, 2010 at 11:32 PM.

  7. #7

  8. #8

    Default Re: Selahedīn's Naval Balance Mod (v0.3)

    I've tried your mod as Denmark and work fine campaign-wise but in battle it is hard to control a line of ships.

    After setting a destination they run off in every direction like a bunch of kids. Is this caused by your mod or is it a country specific bug?

    You can see one of the 80-gun 2-deckers has 21 guns. It was actually "born" with 23 guns but I can't find a reason in your mod code for that and assume it is a vanilla bug.

    /iutland

    Picture added showing 30 seconds or so into the battle.

  9. #9

    Default Re: Selahedīn's Naval Balance Mod (v0.3)

    A suggestion for the Prussian/Austrian fleet, if I might...if you make their ships very expensive, perhaps as much as 4-5 times the regular price, that would discourage the AI from building them and give a player using those states an idea of the challenges faced in building up a Prussian/Austrian navy, wouldn't it?

    In order to represent the fact that once built up the infrastructure for building those ships would make things cheaper, would it be possible to give high-end Prussian/Austrian shipyards a discount ability to bring the ships prices down? That would be quite a feat, I imagine.

    For the Russians, although I feel a bit of a broken record saying this, they built ships up to 120 guns and, indeed, had a 130 gun vessel which may have actually been LARGER than the Santissima Trinidad, since it was built as a 130 gun ship, unlike the Trinidad which was upgraded from a lower number of guns.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Selahedīn's Naval Balance Mod (v0.3)

    Quote Originally Posted by Iutland View Post
    Nice mod, I just love the capability to train warships at commercial ports. +Rep

    /iutland
    Thank you, I felt it was a necessary change.

    Quote Originally Posted by Iutland View Post
    I've tried your mod as Denmark and work fine campaign-wise but in battle it is hard to control a line of ships.

    After setting a destination they run off in every direction like a bunch of kids. Is this caused by your mod or is it a country specific bug?
    That's odd. It could be related to the "no-sail zone", though.

    Meaning that, with my mod, all ships will continously try to avoid sailing directly upwind, and that may cause some pathfinding issues, with large fleets.

    With most naval mods, sailing upwind is still a possibility (usually at 10-20% speed, I think). With SNB, that isn't the case at all. If you try to sail directly upwind, you practically won't move.

    In any case, I'll do some more testing and, if necessary, I'll reduce the no-sail zone penalty, to make it more bearable.

    Quote Originally Posted by Iutland View Post
    You can see one of the 80-gun 2-deckers has 21 guns. It was actually "born" with 23 guns but I can't find a reason in your mod code for that and assume it is a vanilla bug.
    Yes, I don't see how that could have been caused by my mod. I haven't changed anything relating to the guns (yet).

    Quote Originally Posted by Swerg View Post
    A suggestion for the Prussian/Austrian fleet, if I might...if you make their ships very expensive, perhaps as much as 4-5 times the regular price, that would discourage the AI from building them and give a player using those states an idea of the challenges faced in building up a Prussian/Austrian navy, wouldn't it?

    In order to represent the fact that once built up the infrastructure for building those ships would make things cheaper, would it be possible to give high-end Prussian/Austrian shipyards a discount ability to bring the ships prices down? That would be quite a feat, I imagine.

    For the Russians, although I feel a bit of a broken record saying this, they built ships up to 120 guns and, indeed, had a 130 gun vessel which may have actually been LARGER than the Santissima Trinidad, since it was built as a 130 gun ship, unlike the Trinidad which was upgraded from a lower number of guns.
    Yes, making their ships more expensive is also a possibility. It would probably be a far better solution than removing them, actually. The player would still be able to build them, if he/she really wanted to, it would just be more difficult (as it should be). And it would make the AI think twice before "spamming" Ships-of-the-Line.
    It's a good suggestion, I'm still not sure if I will implement it, though. Perhaps later on.

    As for the Russians, you are completely right. I've always felt that their Navy, during this period, was extremely underrated. It was definitely a Naval power on the rise.

    I was just using ships like the Poltava as a frame of reference, but I'm pretty sure that was not their largest during this period. I'll look into giving them the ability to build even larger "1st Rates".
    Last edited by Selahedīn; April 14, 2010 at 04:57 PM.

  11. #11
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    Default Re: Selahedīn's Naval Balance Mod (v0.3)

    Version 0.4 released!
    (No longer available)

    Ships were made slightly faster and more maneuverable upwind. There should be no more problems maintaining a decent line (screenshot below).

    Last edited by Selahedīn; April 16, 2010 at 11:32 PM.

  12. #12

    Icon14 Re: Selahedīn's Naval Balance Mod (v0.3)

    Quote Originally Posted by Selahedīn View Post
    (with some important tweaks)

    Ships were made slightly faster and more maneuverable upwind. There should be no more problems maintaining a decent line (screenshot below).



    Super, thank you

  13. #13
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    Default Re: Selahedīn's Naval Balance Mod v0.5 (17/04/2010)

    (Improved Campaign)

    As of this version, I will no longer be working on ship stats (maneuverability, speed, accuracy, etc.). The reason being that I wasn't happy with the results - while most battles appeared realistic, they seemed to drag on forever - and I know that there are plenty of other mods out there, that provide very similar results.

    So, from now on, I will be focusing on the things that are unique to this mod. I will do my best to provide a more exciting naval campaign. With better fleet compositions and balanced recruitment capabilities.

    Because, at the end of the day, that's what's most important to me.

  14. #14

    Default Re: Selahedīn's Naval Balance Mod v0.5 (17/04/2010)

    Hi Selahedin.....great work ...ur awesome mod now makes much more sense to be playing a campaign as minor factions or ottomans (im using NTF mod) ,,, but just for my personal satisfaction i'd really like to have steam ships in campaign....can u please enlighten me how to activate them in ur mod using PFM ...i've been fiddling around for sometime but not quite sure how to go about...so ur help would be highly appreciated..........

  15. #15

    Default Re: Selahedīn's Naval Balance Mod v0.5 (17/04/2010)

    Selahedīn, I am using the TerraIncognita mod and I keep getting a CTD when I try to load the game after installing your mod. Any suggestions?

    Never mind, I see this is the NAPOLEAN TW forum and I'm playing ETW...ARGH!!!



    I checked all over the ETW forum for a similar mod and couldn't find one. Is there a chance in hell that you have ETW and could do a mod like this for ETW??????
    Last edited by Rions; March 02, 2011 at 06:02 AM.

  16. #16
    Selahedīn's Avatar Biarchus
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    Default Re: Selahedīn's Naval Balance Mod v0.5 (17/04/2010)

    Sorry, but it's very unlikely that I'll be developing any mods for ETW.

  17. #17

    Default Re: Selahedīn's Naval Balance Mod (v0.5)

    Great!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE this mod!
    Napoleon total war my mods

    Sweden is underrestimated! Sweden is underrestimated!

  18. #18

    Default Re: Selahedīn's Naval Balance Mod (v0.5)

    can you make it so kingdom of italy get access to the 122 and 106 ships of the line too they dont in my campaign as them with this mod but the another nations do pwease

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