Ladders and siege towers too small

[Lifthrasir]

I've been searching for a while but can't find an answer.
In the last release of SSHIP, somebody reported the following bug:
For some walls, the ladders and siege towers appear too small and can't reach the top of the walls (see spoiler below).

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Unfortunately, I can't find the reason of this. Is there anybody able to guide me to solve that issue?
Many thanks in advance.

[AntonisTheGreek]

Did you edit a file called descr_walls.txt? This is where the tower type and the wall lever are linked with each other.

[Lifthrasir]

Not me but I have a good idea who did
Thanks for the info. Now, I know where to look

[Lifthrasir]

I had a look in that file and I can't find anything wrong. What other file could create such a problem?

[Gigantus]

It's easy to overlook, the level has to have the matching tower size, small and medium are valid ladder sizes as well:

wall
{
    level 0
    siege_tower_size too_small


wall
{
    level 1
    siege_tower_size small


wall
{
    level 2
    siege_tower_size small


wall
{
    level 3
    siege_tower_size medium


wall
{
    level 4
    siege_tower_size large

[Lifthrasir]

I've checked that. The descr_walls.txt file has these entries, no typos, no extra or missing space... I can't find out

[Gigantus]

Then check if the EDB core buildings have the correct wall levels (0,1,2,3,4)

        wooden_pallisade city requires factions { northern_european, mesoamerican, middle_eastern, eastern_european, greek, southern_european, } 
        {
            convert_to 1
            capability
            {
                recruit_pool "Town Militia"  1   0.2   2  0  requires factions { Normans, } 
                recruit_pool "Peasant Spearmen"  1   0.2   2  0  requires factions { Saxons, } 
                wall_level 0
                tower_level 1
                free_upkeep bonus 2
                happiness_bonus bonus 1
                recruitment_slots 1

[Lifthrasir]

Thanks for the tip. I'll check that and let you know

[Lifthrasir]

I've checked the EDB. It seems ok. I could find the relevant entries for each type of walls, for cities and castles.

[Gigantus]

Well, then you will have to make actual tests if your file set up results in the same problem. If not, well, then the problem is with the other player's set up. It's either a large or huge stone wall by the looks of the pic - I don't think the walls are custom models.
Also have a look if you have custom siege tower files: siege_engines\siege_tower_small.mesh and siege_tower_town_high.mesh - if not then the problem should be descr_walls.

[Rafkos]

I remember fixing this bug in EB2. Im my case the siege eq was too big, and the reason for that was the city level being too high. Looks like your city model is made for the "large city" level, not for the "city" level. Simply move its files to large city model (requires a bit of renaming etc. and do not copy the 1kb file)

[Gigantus]

Yup, that would have been the remaining option - it's also the most uncommon case as an edit of the building files rarely happens. If this is the case for all culture's wall height at this settlement level then it is however much easier to simply change the tower size in descr_walls.

[Lifthrasir]

Thanks guys. I'm actually suspecting the player to not have updated his game with the last hotfix we have made. I have test that ingame with a large city and couldn't find that issue. Ladders and siege towers were at the right size in my game.
Anyway, I'll double check in the direction given by Rafkos, just to be 200% sure

Edit: it seems that the issue doesn't occur all the time. Actually I also think that Rafkos is right as my "modding partner" has used the G5 Settlement Tweaks. That might be the reason why or at least, relating to it

[Rafkos]

If it does not occur all the time then it's not the settlement level I think. Does it happen with specific cultures only? If so, then the issue is in this file descr_engines.txt, in this file you can assign different siege equipment models for different cultures.

[Lifthrasir]

No, it's not specific to one culture. It has been mentioned for South European and Greek cultures but I'll check that file too.

[K'Sharra the Conqueror]

Any answer to this problem? Changing the wall_level in EDB does nothing to change the siege-tower and ladder height. Citadels have a wall_level of 4. This would indicate they should use the huge city siege towers, but they use the medium siege-towers and ladders as intended. The problem I'm having is that large cities use the small siege-towers/ladders, with is wrong, they should use the large ones. In the vanilla game and Kingdoms it's fine but not in any mod.

[Gigantus]

You don't change the wall level in the EDB, after all that's core buildings - you need to change the siege equipment level in descr_walls so that the right size equipment is used.

Example:

wall
{
	level 0
	siege_tower_size too_small

[K'Sharra the Conqueror]

I changed the "siege_tower" entry in descr_walls in your Bare Geomod to this:

; SMALL STONE/TOWN WALLS
wall
{
                 level 2
                 siege_tower_size medium

This fixed the problem of the too small siege-towers and ladders on large cities. This didn't change the siege-tower/ladder size on minor cities, which made me conclude that minor cities somehow use level 1 walls. This may also explain the absence of boiling oil gatehouses in minor cities, despite them having that in the Kingdoms expansion.

[Gigantus]

Level one is the wooden palisade normally which obviously has no oil, so you could be right there. Check in the EDB the core_building name against the wall_level value, that will show you for sure.

Adding oil to a wall level is a simple matter of copy\paste in descr_walls provided it's a stone gate house, the wooden one will not have the required 'points'.

[K'Sharra the Conqueror]

Here's the descr_wall entries in Bare Geomod

; TALL WOODEN WALLS
wall
{
 level 1
 siege_tower_size small
 wall
 {
  full_health 600
  battle_stats flammability_medium impact_damage_high
  localised_name wall
 }
 gateway
 {
  full_health 550
  battle_stats flammability_medium impact_damage_high
  localised_name gateway
  projectile_impacts_all_hit_gate
  medium_wooden
  medium_reinforced
  medium_iron
 }
 tower
 {
  full_health 650
  control_area_radius 30
  manned 1
  battle_stats  flammability_medium impact_damage_high
  localised_name tower
  
  ; as in descr_unit.txt
  level
  {
   stat  8, 0, arrow, 120, 10, missile, missile_mechanical, piercing, arrow_tower, 10, 1
   stat_attr no
   shot_sfx TOWER_ARROW_FIRING
   fire_angle 90
   ; unit size   reload_ms flaming_reload_ms 
   fire_rate small  6000    3250
   fire_rate normal 6500    3250
   fire_rate large  5500       3250
   fire_rate huge   4550       3250
  }
 }
}
; SMALL STONE/TOWN WALLS
wall
{
 level 2
 siege_tower_size medium
 wall
 {
  full_health 1000
  battle_stats flammability_none impact_damage_high
  localised_name wall
 }
 gateway
 {
  full_health 900
  battle_stats flammability_none impact_damage_high
  localised_name gateway
  medium_wooden
  medium_reinforced
  medium_iron
 }
 tower
 {
  full_health 1100
  control_area_radius 30
  manned 1
  battle_stats flammability_none impact_damage_high
  localised_name tower
  
  ; as in descr_unit.txt
  level
  {
  stat  8, 0, arrow, 120, 10, missile, missile_mechanical, piercing, arrow_tower, 10, 1
   stat_attr no
   shot_sfx TOWER_ARROW_FIRING
   fire_angle 90
   ; unit size   reload_ms flaming_reload_ms 
   fire_rate small  6000    3250
   fire_rate normal 6500    3250
   fire_rate large  5500       3250
   fire_rate huge   4550       3250
  }
               level
  {
   stat  40, 0, tower_ballista, 150, 10, siege_missile, artillery_mechanical, piercing, ballista_tower, 350, 1
   stat_attr no
   shot_sfx TOWER_BALLISTA_FIRING 
   fire_angle 45
   ; unit size   reload_ms flaming_reload_ms 
   fire_rate small  18500      19500  
   fire_rate normal 16000      18500
   fire_rate large  14000        16500
   fire_rate huge   13500        15000
  }
 }
 gatehouse
 {
  full_health 800
  control_area_radius 10
  manned 1
  battle_stats flammability_none impact_damage_high
  localised_name gatehouse
  
  missile_level
  {
   stat  12, 0, arrow, 120, 10, missile, missile_mechanical, piercing, arrow_tower, 10, 1
   stat_attr no
   shot_sfx TOWER_ARROW_FIRING
   shot_gfx 
   fire_angle 90
   ; unit size   reload_ms flaming_reload_ms 
   fire_rate small  6000    3250
   fire_rate normal 6500    3250
   fire_rate large  5500       3250
   fire_rate huge   4550       3250
  }
  oil_level
  {
   stat  1, 0, oil, 50, 10, missile, missile_mechanical, piercing, arrow_tower, 40, 1
   stat_attr no
   shot_sfx TOWER_ARROW_FIRING
   shot_gfx boiling_oil_set
   fire_angle 90
   slot_yaw -135 135
   slot_pitch -95 -70
   ; unit size   reload_ms flaming_reload_ms 
   fire_rate small  32500     31000
   fire_rate normal 32500    31000
   fire_rate large  32500  31000
   fire_rate huge   32500     31000   
  }
 }
}
wall
{
 level 3
 siege_tower_size medium
 wall
 {
  full_health 2000
  battle_stats flammability_none impact_damage_high
  localised_name wall
 }
 gateway
 {
  full_health 1800
  battle_stats flammability_none impact_damage_high
  localised_name gateway
  medium_wooden
  medium_reinforced
  medium_iron
 }
 tower
 {
  full_health 2200
  control_area_radius 30
  manned 1
  battle_stats flammability_none impact_damage_high
  localised_name tower
  
  ; as in descr_unit.txt
  level
  {
   stat  8, 0, arrow, 120, 10, missile, missile_mechanical, piercing, arrow_tower, 10, 1
   stat_attr no
   shot_sfx TOWER_ARROW_FIRING
   fire_angle 90
   ; unit size   reload_ms flaming_reload_ms 
   fire_rate small  6000    3250
   fire_rate normal 6500    3250
   fire_rate large  5500       3250
   fire_rate huge   4550       3250
  }
  level
  {
   stat  40, 0, tower_ballista, 150, 10, siege_missile, artillery_mechanical, piercing, ballista_tower, 350, 1
   stat_attr no
   shot_sfx TOWER_BALLISTA_FIRING 
   fire_angle 45
   ; unit size   reload_ms flaming_reload_ms 
   fire_rate small  18500      19500  
   fire_rate normal 16000      18500
   fire_rate large  14000        16500
   fire_rate huge   13500        15000
  }
                level
  {
   stat  40, 0, bombard_shot, 290, 10, siege_missile, artillery_gunpowder, piercing, cannon_tower, 80, 1
   stat_attr no
   shot_sfx CANNON_FIRING 
   fire_angle 45
   ; unit size   reload_ms flaming_reload_ms 
   fire_rate small  30000    36000
   fire_rate normal 26000    26000
   fire_rate large  24000        26000
   fire_rate huge   22000        26000
  }
 }
 gatehouse
 {
  full_health 1200
  control_area_radius 10
  manned 1
  battle_stats flammability_none impact_damage_high
  localised_name gatehouse
  
  missile_level
  {
   stat  12, 0, arrow, 120, 10, missile, missile_mechanical, piercing, arrow_tower, 10, 1
   stat_attr no
   shot_sfx TOWER_ARROW_FIRING
   shot_gfx 
   fire_angle 90
   ; unit size   reload_ms flaming_reload_ms 
   fire_rate small  6000    3250
   fire_rate normal 6500    3250
   fire_rate large  5500       3250
   fire_rate huge   4550       3250
  }
  oil_level
  {
   stat  1, 0, oil, 50, 10, missile, missile_mechanical, piercing, arrow_tower, 40, 1
   stat_attr no
   shot_sfx TOWER_ARROW_FIRING
   shot_gfx boiling_oil_set
   fire_angle 90
   slot_yaw -135 135
   slot_pitch -95 -70
   ; unit size   reload_ms flaming_reload_ms 
   fire_rate small  32500     31000
   fire_rate normal 32500    31000
   fire_rate large  32500  31000
   fire_rate huge   32500     31000    
  }
 }
}

And the EDB entries:

        wooden_wall city requires factions { northern_european, mesoamerican, middle_eastern, eastern_european, greek, southern_european, } 
        {
            convert_to 2
            capability
            {
                wall_level 1
                gate_strength 1
                tower_level 1
                free_upkeep bonus 3
                happiness_bonus bonus 1
                recruitment_slots 2
            }
            material wooden
            construction  2 
            cost  1200 
            settlement_min town
            upgrades
            {
                stone_wall
            }
        }
        stone_wall city requires factions { northern_european, mesoamerican, middle_eastern, eastern_european, greek, southern_european, } 
        {
            capability
            {
                wall_level 2
                tower_level 1
                gate_strength 1
                free_upkeep bonus 4
                happiness_bonus bonus 1
                recruitment_slots 2
            }
            material stone
            construction  3 
            cost  2400 
            settlement_min large_town
            upgrades
            {
                large_stone_wall
            }
        }
        large_stone_wall city requires factions { northern_european, mesoamerican, middle_eastern, eastern_european, greek, southern_european, } 
        {
            capability
            {

                wall_level 3
                tower_level 1
                gate_strength 2
                free_upkeep bonus 5
                happiness_bonus bonus 2
                recruitment_slots 3
            }
            material stone
            construction  3 
            cost  4800 
            settlement_min city
            upgrades
            {
                huge_stone_wall
            }
        }

This is also a problem in every mod that I've tried.