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Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Sun May 07, 2017 4:16 pm
by Robotron
Only thing left to do now is to script the AI selection process for the events and diplomatic actions. I could just let it randomly draw from the pool of available events but that's rather braindead so I've decided to do the following:

All the events from the pool of available events are split up into three priority groups: high, medium and low priority.

Before any events are picked, the script will look at the player's distribution of INFLUENCE (used for modifying alignment change of neutrals) and INTEL/SIGINT (for facilitating spy events, clearing of FOW, tech stealing, ruining enemy diplo points etc.) and only play events after making sure the player is not running away with spendings in influence or intel. Especially influence spent on factions that are close to joining the war will be countered if the investment is deemed worthwhile.
By the way: Italy cannot be INFLUENCed, it will have to be bribed by conceding territory (Trento and/or Trieste for CP, Tunisia for Entente) or will just react to victorious achievements like conquering Paris, Warsaw, Belgrade or Przemysl, invasion of Galicia and such like.

The script will then check all event priority groups, starting with the high priority group and play events from there until all diplo points are used up or all top priority events have been played, then move to the medium importance section if points are left.
Before any low priority events are getting played there's an additional check whether or not to better stockpile leftover diplo points for a high-cost diplomatic action like "Insurgency" or "Denounce".

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Sun May 07, 2017 9:36 pm
by Zombo
Sounds cool - although, for influencing Italy, why not making it very expensive for weaker effect (so it's not altogether excluded from the mechanism)

BTW, while playing my last game, a couple of little things came to my mind

1) artillery: I guess the effectiveness level affects the firepower (i don't know if it's mathematical, that is, if level 5 is half the firepower of the level 10). If it is so, shouldn't the ammo consumption be reduced accordingly? ( I suppose a low effectiveness rating would mean a correspondingly lower number of guns able to fire)

2) rail movement distance: I don't know if it's moddable, but since the turns in 1915 and after are now two weeks long, shouldn't the rail movement range be adjusted? It takes one month (2 turns) for a German unit to be transferred from the Western Front to the Eastern Front, which is way way more than historically.

3) I know the representation of naval warfare is not the forte of this game, but still. I had a Austrian Battleship destroyed because it was "blocked" at the entrance of the Adriatic Sea by enemy submarines, which it couldn't move through. Ships acting as physical obstructions I can possibly understand, but subs?

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Sun May 07, 2017 10:54 pm
by Robotron
Zombo wrote: 1) artillery: I guess the effectiveness level affects the firepower (i don't know if it's mathematical, that is, if level 5 is half the firepower of the level 10). If it is so, shouldn't the ammo consumption be reduced accordingly? ( I suppose a low effectiveness rating would mean a correspondingly lower number of guns able to fire)
Others might argue that low efficiency causes uncoordinated and ineffective barrages that just plough the countryside, wasting ammo.
Zombo wrote: 2) rail movement distance: I don't know if it's moddable, but since the turns in 1915 and after are now two weeks long, shouldn't the rail movement range be adjusted? It takes one month (2 turns) for a German unit to be transferred from the Western Front to the Eastern Front, which is way way more than historically.
I know you're a multiplayer-only guy but don't forget that the AI has hardcoded infinite rail movement, which when combined with an even greater range would probably increase its tendency for crazy railing around of units even more. Besides I've no clue where to change the range for rail moves since I can't find any reference to that in the scripts so I guess that range too is hardcoded into the unmodifiable main executable.
Zombo wrote: 3) I know the representation of naval warfare is not the forte of this game, but still. I had a Austrian Battleship destroyed because it was "blocked" at the entrance of the Adriatic Sea by enemy submarines, which it couldn't move through. Ships acting as physical obstructions I can possibly understand, but subs?
I agree that blocking with submarines is totally lame but again no clue where to change that since movement/spotting of submarines is also strongly tied to functions defined in the game's core.

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Mon May 08, 2017 6:33 am
by Ranger9000
Going to post this here as well, though I just posted it elsewhere as it might pertain to the mod (which me and my friend are using.) I'm playing central powers and he's playing Entente. Things are going very well on the western front for me (Paris has fallen, French armies on the run) but in turn very weak on the Eastern Front (I've captured Warsaw, but lost Danzig (but not Koingberg) and the Russians are knocking on Budapest's door). I moved my small garrison out of Budapest to replace it with infantry, it got smashed by a Russian infantry and instead of retreating it's 'phased' into the Russian infantry unit on the replay. At the end of the replay (when it starts to load events) it crashes and the log gives this.

Log date: 2017-05-07 23:20:19
[23:20:19][10928]Running Steam build
[23:20:21][10928]Unable to read game settings. Using defaults.
[23:20:22][10928]Renderer: Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 version: 4.0.0 - Build 9.17.10.2857
[23:20:22][10928]Commander: The Great War(v 1.6.6)
[23:20:22][10928]Audio device used: OpenAL Soft
[23:20:22][10928]Loading main script
[23:20:22][10928]Loading app script
[23:20:22][10928]App version:1.6.6
[23:20:22][10928]Today is: 7.5.2017
[23:20:33][10952]Starting PBEM game. Id: 369552 Ranger9000 vs TheAmbiguousBriton
[23:20:35][10952]Game instance downloaded, moving on
[23:20:37][10952]Invalid railroad from: KRISTIANA
[23:21:05][10928]CHANCE/ROLL:38/402
[23:21:38][10928]Invalid railroad from: KRISTIANA
[23:21:42][10928]++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
[23:21:42][10928]++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++STARTING GAME TURN # 13/DEC/1914
[23:21:42][10928]++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Not sure if this is from the Mod or Not but thought it might be for the best to let you know.

(Screenshot of overlapping here http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... =921585827)

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Mon May 08, 2017 7:50 am
by Zombo
Others might argue that low efficiency causes uncoordinated and ineffective barrages that just plough the countryside, wasting ammo.
That's if one considers the efficiency level to reflect the unit's "proficiency" (which is already reflected by the regular-veteran-elite status), and would mean that the artillerymen's competence within the same unit could fluctuate significantly with a few weeks interval.
It makes more sense to consider that the efficiency reflects operational readiness, since it is impacted by movement, fatigue, weather, disruption from air attacks... which can fluctuate - and represents the % of guns able to be effectively positioned and supplied , rather than how accurately the guns fire at that precise moment.
in other words, a disorganized, overstretched, poortly supplied artillery unit is more likely to not fire much ( therefore spending fewer ammo), than fire a lot but aimlessly.
not a game-breaking issue, I concede. Just a logical thing.

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 1:09 pm
by Moreau
so v 4-0 is out soon?

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 9:40 pm
by Robotron
Moreau wrote:so v 4-0 is out soon?
So far I've managed to include almost all features that were projected over the last few months except the stuff the engine wouldn't let me change like limiting AI rail moves, railmove range and preventing subs from blocking in surface vessels.

Now it's time to go searching for bugs and test balancing. I'm keeping fingers crossed everything goes peachy. :roll:

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Fri May 12, 2017 12:01 pm
by Robotron
Okay, as expected the game has been crashing left and right while playtesting but up to now I was able to fix any offenders. However the last few problems took me DAYS to fix and I almost felt physically sick, tired and drained while trying to wrap my mind around scripts that were programmed by the original coders. The code for the UI is especially unforgiving since displaying and updating even a single bloody number value is a chore to implement. Only by literally hundreds of trial & error attempts I got that specific routine working which was required for proper display of a certain new values and buttons that I knew you guys just would have shot me down in flames for if those weren't properly done. As I already said I'm not a real coder but a mere enthusiast. Sometimes it feels like a bloody chore but when stuff finally works it's sweet triumph.

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Fri May 12, 2017 1:28 pm
by Zombo
Guys guys

send Robo all your love

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Sat May 13, 2017 8:14 pm
by Robotron
Things are proceeding more smoothly now. :)

I cut down on SIGINT features to speed up finishing the first beta version: spying on enemy alliance resource panel will be added later. I'm just fed up with the UI scripts for the moment. Added PP sabotage as replacement.

Changes made after first test runs:

Added neutral faction: Berber Tribesmen who will revolt against French cities in Mahgreb if either French Army of Africa and Foreign Legion were sent to Europe or Jihad was proclaimed by Ottomans.

Added display showing the percentage of Special Events in you events pool so you have an inkling when it's worthwhile to draw from the events pool. Non-Special events will be generic stuff that adds PP, morale, ammo or MP.
Image

Added option to refuse all drawn events and instead randomly spread the diplo points spent on INFLUENCing neutral nations.
Image

*edit* the Serbian light cruiser shown in the pic was included for testing purposes, there will be no Serbian navy.

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 2:03 pm
by Moreau
Great work man!
And regarding the austrian defence plans how will the czech revolts work?

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 3:51 pm
by Robotron
Moreau wrote:how will the czech revolts work?
Austrian ground units suffer a stackable attack penalty against enemy units every time the event "Ethnic Revolts" occurs which is usually triggered by bad morale, ceding territory when trying to bribe Italy or Romania or loss of cities/fortresses.

Each time the Ethnic Revolt is triggered a D6 is rolled to see which ethnic group is revolting.

1-3: Czechs revolt: minus 1D2 to attacks on Russian units; minus 1D2+1 if “Masaryk Committee” has occurred
4-5: Croats revolt: minus 1D2 to attacks on Serbian and Italian units unless led by General Borojevich
6: Hungarians revolt: minus 1 to attacks on Italian and Romanian units unless led by General Koveshaza

If either “Masaryk Committee” or “Death of Franz Josef” have occurred, the Czech combat penalty will be applied vs ANY enemy unit, not just Russians.
If ”Death of Franz-Joseph” has occurred, Croation and Hungarian penalties will be applied vs ANY enemy unit.

Once the revolts happen too often, AH will collapse unless the "Reforms" event is played. The result of the reforms might either be peacefully putting an end to all revolts by allowing the Slavs to be part of the newly created Triple Monarchy OR instant Austrian collapse caused by Hungarian secession.

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 4:46 pm
by Moreau
what will happen if you let them be a part of the monarchy?

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 5:01 pm
by Robotron
Moreau wrote:what will happen if you let them be a part of the monarchy?
Then all revolts will be stopped, Austrian collapse points will be halved and morale will be regained. However playing the "Reforms" event is very risky as it might lead to instant collapse if it fails and has a rather low chance of succeeding in the first place. So players will likely be tempted to postpone the reforms unless Austria is on the brink of collapse anyway.

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Wed May 17, 2017 10:06 am
by Moreau
when is 4.0 releasinmg?

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Wed May 17, 2017 3:47 pm
by Robotron
As soon as the mod stays reliably stable for a reasonable number of turns...let's just say until christmas 1914 (turn 15) for the first beta version. This goal should be feasible within the next two weeks I suppose. :roll:
I know there are people out there itching to playtest V4 but there's really no point in releasing it before this milestone has been reached even if players volunteer for alpha-testing.

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 4:47 pm
by Robotron
Game plays fine now up to turn 15 as CP, only minor bugs caused by typos. Will next try as Entente up to turn 15 and then one full game for each side.With choice events and diplo the game is a totally different experience I can tell you. :mrgreen:

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 6:09 pm
by Moreau
Well the diffrence sounds good because most games now feel the same

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Sat May 20, 2017 8:35 am
by tralala43
God is a Robotron.

Seriously though, this is one of the best game mods ever. Great work there. Thanks for working on it!

Re: POTZBLITZ mod Update V3.4 (DEC 11th)

Posted: Sat May 20, 2017 8:23 pm
by Zombo
I had to reinstall the game because of a fuck up, and I don't seem to manage to reinstall the mod. I download the latest version, overwrite the data file in the main directory, and I get the vanilla screen when I open the game. Any idea?