ENDLESS™ Space is a turn-based 4X strategy game, covering the space colonization age in the ENDLESS™ Universe. You control every aspect of your civilization as you strive for galactic dominion.
The problem here is that its possible, depending on some of these other elements, for fighter damage to be high enough to make it an effective anti-ship weapon. Which would reduce early bombers to invasion only role.
Antera wrote: This is my second mod and more of a side project. Depending on how well it works out I might include it into my next project.
Carrier Mod
Current version: 1.1.17.0
Goal: The carrier mod is intended to make fighter/bomber/PD/carrier aspect of the game more prominent than in the stock game.
What the mod does: The mod modifies many aspect of the gameplay relating to fighter/bomber action. The most prominent changes include:
[LIST=1]
Medium 2 chassis of each race has been changed into a specialized carrier chassis.
Progression of fighter/bomber/PD stats has been greatly altered to increase their viability.
Fighter/bomber/PD are also rebalanced scale more like regular weapon and defense modules do.
Fighter/bomber/PD modules are no longer limited by special slot count, they are still limited by tonnage.
Fighter/bomber can now make one attack on the first phase if the opponent does not flee.
[/LIST]
Design Principles
The way I balanced fighter/bomber/PD is based on the following principles:
[LIST=1]
Anti-ship bomber should be strong enough to be a viable primary weapon in battle; the damage of bombers are set by gauging their effectiveness compared to other weapon types
At low level, the role of fighter is anti-bomber with a bit of anti-ship; they can make a difference in anti-ship combat but not nearly as much as bomber
At high level, fighter becomes hybrid fighter-bomber so that they can carry out anti-bomber and anti-ship duty; this is done by setting fighter damage, fighter anti-ship dmaage malus, and fighter anti-bomber accuracy bonus
At high level, fighter are fairly close in combat efficiency against small ship chassis but still inferior against large ship compared to bomber; this is done by setting fighters to have a higher accuracy and evade than bomber (small ships have high evade that is effective against bomber)
Fighter versus fighter battle can last 4-5 rounds if both side are similar in number, this allow the bombers to sneak through and do damage while the fighter duke it out; this is set by adjusting fighter HP
Point Defense should mimic simlar level defense module by shooting down enough fighter/bomber to provide ships better survivability; point defense provide superior defense against bomber than fighter on a per-ton basis
Anti-planet bomber are strictly for invasion only, though they do provide about 1/3 of the combat power as anti-ship bomber in a pinch
[/LIST]
As a result of these design principles, a number of ship design strategies will naturally arise. I won't spill the beans yet and let you guys figure it out for yourself.
Changes to the Game
Here are the details of what the mod changes:
[1] Carrier
Medium 2 chassis of each race has been changed into a specialized carrier chassis. My original intention was to simply add a seventh chassis but the ship design window currently cannot accomodate more than 6 chassis. I'll change it if that changes.
Carrier chassis has the following general stats:
Cost: 400
HP: 2000
Tonnage: 300
SpecSlot: 3 (for troops)
CP: 3
Evade: 0.23
HullWeakness: 150
Bonus: -25% fighter/bomber tonnage
The bonus varies slightly for some race. For instance, Hissho carrier has -33% fighter/bomber tonnage while Harmony carrier has -40% fighter/bomber tonnage. The original bonus of Medium 2 has either been merged into Medium 1 or removed depending on what it is and what made sense to me. For instance, Harmony small 2 chassis now has the bonus of Harmony medium 2 since medium 2 has taken over the role of the carrier.
[2] Fighter
[LIST=1]
Fighter modules no longer take up special slots
Fighter has only one variant: battle; this was done simplify the role of fighters
Fighter modules takes a fixed 50 ton for all tech level; stats scaled appropriately
Fighter stats re-balanced to give a more logical progression and scales in stats with tech level roughly the same way weapons do
Fighter modules have military power that reflects that space combat capabilities
Low-level fighters have large damage malus when attacking ships, this is overcome as you go to higher level fighters
Fighter now reach the enemy in two rounds and can make one strike against the opponent on the first phase if they did not flee
Fighter now have improved accuracy when hunting bombers, allowing them to make a difference in anti-bomber action
[/LIST]
[3] Bomber
[LIST=1]
Bomber modules no longer take up special slots
Bomber has two variant: anti-ship and anti-planet
Bomber modules takes a fixed 50 ton for all tech level; stats scaled appropriately
Bomber modules now provide 2 bombers each, this was done in part to balance fighter vs bomber action
Bomber stats re-balanced to give a more logical progression and scales in stats with tech level roughly the same way weapons do
Lv 3 bomber still has higher evade and lower HP than otherwise for its tech level; this was done on purpose
Bomber modules have military power that reflects that space combat capabilities
Bomber now reach the enemy in two rounds and can make one strike against the opponent on the first phase if they did not flee
[/LIST]
[4] Point Defense (PD)
[LIST=1]
PD modules no longer take up special slots
PD modules cost reduced to a level in line with other defenses
PD modules now does fixed damage and is much more effective than before in order to counter the rise of fighter/bomber as threats
PD modules have military power similar to comparable tech level defense modules
[/LIST]
[5] Technology
[LIST=1]
Two new technologies have been added to Science branch that adds passive module regeneration: Strikecraft Repair Droid under Neural Robotices (TL2) and Auto-Mending Strikecraft Hull under Tectonic Engineering (TL5)
[/LIST]
[6] Known Issues as of v1.1.17.0
[LIST=1]
This mod can be graphically intensive. My comp can handle about 100 strikecrafts without stutter, and about 200 with only lag during weapon fire, so I've set the stats in such a way that you will get 200 ish fighters at the very end of the game while equipping minimal defenses. With a more typical ship design, the end-game number will be closer to 150. Nevertheless, your computer may not like it. Well, I would dial the numbers down more, but then it wouldn't be as epic.
AI does not currently take advantage of the rule change. I'll probably work on this later. Ideas are much appreciated.
[/LIST]
[7] Things I am considering
[LIST=1]
Soliciting feedback on fighter/bomber/PD balance
Soliciting feedback on how the chassis effect of medium 2 has been moved
Rename faction-specific fighter/bomber to match their respective faction naming scheme
Adding a second tier PD to counter Lv 3 and 4 fighter/bombers
Fighter/bomber battle cards?
Fighter/bomber hero abilities?
[/LIST]
Installation Instructions
Mod files are attached to this post.
Install:
1) If not already existing, create a new folder called "Modding" in "My Documents\Endless Space\Disharmony\"
1a) If you don't know where "My Documents" is, navigate to "[DriveLetter]:\Users[AccountName]\My Documents\"
2) Unzip the zip file’s content to "My Documents\Endless Space\Disharmony\Modding", this should create a folder called "CarrierMod"
Running the mod:
1) Start the game, go to Mods on the title screen.
2) Select mod and load.
Starting the game with the mod loaded:
1) [Steamusers] Go to the "Game Library" in Steam
2) Right click Endless Space and select "Properties"
3) Click "Set Launch Options"
4) Type "+mod CarrierMod" without the quotation marks into the blank
5) Start the game
Uninstall:
1) Clear the "Set Launch Options" if you had them set
2) Navigate to the "Modding" folder
3) Delete the "CarrierMod" folder
Maybe I'm just stupid... but I don't see a hyperlink anywhere in the post. How do I download this mod?
I am attempting to use your mod, however I can only activate it from the vanilla menu, and when I do it takes me to the generic expansion content. Is there any way to move it from the vanilla mod tray into the expansion mod tray so it deploys properly?
For anyone still following this mod, I'm currently at a cross-road. Since the last update, I have discovered ways to greatly increase the flexibility of modding the combat system. But doing so would fundamentally change how the system is carried out and would be incompatible with the existing weapon modules. I'm likely going to create a mod that complete rebalances the weapon/fighter/bomber system using this new modding flexibility. What I'm curious about is if anyone actually still wants a version of carrier mod that is compatible with the existing ES combat system. I personally don't want to maintain a combat rebalance mod for weapon/fighter/bomber and a carrier mode just for fighter/bomber.
Here's what you go, and this applies to combining any mods that don't have any crosstalk.
1) Throw in files from both mod into a new mod folder following the same folder structure as each mod in their own sub-folder.
2) Make a copy of the index.xml file from mod A and put it into the new mod folder, open it up along with the index.xml file from mod B. Scroll to the bottom of the mod B index.xml and look for a bunch of tags. Copy those and put them into the equivalent location in mod A.
3) If both mod A and mod B refer to a particular repository, like "Gui" for example, copy all the tags from the under the two repository tags into under one repository tag. This is basically how you make the game look for all the mod files.
assafb wrote: Just came across this Mod, looks extremely useful, to the extent that I hope that some of the decisions will be adopted to future patches, I'll surely try it the next time I come around to starting a new game. Thanks for your work.
I hope they adopt some of the changes too. The way fighter/bomber/PD are right now just isn't right.
Cypherseven wrote: Would you be able to combine your mods?
Which mods? Carrier and AFTM?
I plan to make a third mod in the future that combines them and then some. Though that will be sometime later. With that said, the mods are not too hard to combine. They use no overlapping files (except index). In fact, I play with them combined on my comp.
Just came across this Mod, looks extremely useful, to the extent that I hope that some of the decisions will be adopted to future patches, I'll surely try it the next time I come around to starting a new game. Thanks for your work.
Too much reduction makes them too weak to PD (compared to fighters). If I reduce fighter HP together with bomber HP (and PD damage too) it makes the fighter vs fighter phase last too short. The only way around it is to play with accuracy/evade/damage malus. Its not that big of an issue in the current v1.1.17 balance so I reduced the anti-ship malus. But there is a lot of interaction between fighter/bomber/PD stats that require walking a fine line when tuning them.
This is my second mod and more of a side project. Depending on how well it works out I might include it into my next project.
Carrier Mod
Current version: 1.1.17.0
Goal: The carrier mod is intended to make fighter/bomber/PD/carrier aspect of the game more prominent than in the stock game.
What the mod does: The mod modifies many aspect of the gameplay relating to fighter/bomber action. The most prominent changes include:
[LIST=1]
Medium 2 chassis of each race has been changed into a specialized carrier chassis.
Progression of fighter/bomber/PD stats has been greatly altered to increase their viability.
Fighter/bomber/PD are also rebalanced scale more like regular weapon and defense modules do.
Fighter/bomber/PD modules are no longer limited by special slot count, they are still limited by tonnage.
Fighter/bomber can now make one attack on the first phase if the opponent does not flee.
[/LIST]
Design Principles
The way I balanced fighter/bomber/PD is based on the following principles:
[LIST=1]
Anti-ship bomber should be strong enough to be a viable primary weapon in battle; the damage of bombers are set by gauging their effectiveness compared to other weapon types
At low level, the role of fighter is anti-bomber with a bit of anti-ship; they can make a difference in anti-ship combat but not nearly as much as bomber
At high level, fighter becomes hybrid fighter-bomber so that they can carry out anti-bomber and anti-ship duty; this is done by setting fighter damage, fighter anti-ship dmaage malus, and fighter anti-bomber accuracy bonus
At high level, fighter are fairly close in combat efficiency against small ship chassis but still inferior against large ship compared to bomber; this is done by setting fighters to have a higher accuracy and evade than bomber (small ships have high evade that is effective against bomber)
Fighter versus fighter battle can last 4-5 rounds if both side are similar in number, this allow the bombers to sneak through and do damage while the fighter duke it out; this is set by adjusting fighter HP
Point Defense should mimic simlar level defense module by shooting down enough fighter/bomber to provide ships better survivability; point defense provide superior defense against bomber than fighter on a per-ton basis
Anti-planet bomber are strictly for invasion only, though they do provide about 1/3 of the combat power as anti-ship bomber in a pinch
[/LIST]
As a result of these design principles, a number of ship design strategies will naturally arise. I won't spill the beans yet and let you guys figure it out for yourself.
Changes to the Game
Here are the details of what the mod changes:
[1] Carrier
Medium 2 chassis of each race has been changed into a specialized carrier chassis. My original intention was to simply add a seventh chassis but the ship design window currently cannot accomodate more than 6 chassis. I'll change it if that changes.
Carrier chassis has the following general stats:
Cost: 400
HP: 2000
Tonnage: 300
SpecSlot: 3 (for troops)
CP: 3
Evade: 0.23
HullWeakness: 150
Bonus: -25% fighter/bomber tonnage
The bonus varies slightly for some race. For instance, Hissho carrier has -33% fighter/bomber tonnage while Harmony carrier has -40% fighter/bomber tonnage. The original bonus of Medium 2 has either been merged into Medium 1 or removed depending on what it is and what made sense to me. For instance, Harmony small 2 chassis now has the bonus of Harmony medium 2 since medium 2 has taken over the role of the carrier.
[2] Fighter
[LIST=1]
Fighter modules no longer take up special slots
Fighter has only one variant: battle; this was done simplify the role of fighters
Fighter modules takes a fixed 50 ton for all tech level; stats scaled appropriately
Fighter stats re-balanced to give a more logical progression and scales in stats with tech level roughly the same way weapons do
Fighter modules have military power that reflects that space combat capabilities
Low-level fighters have large damage malus when attacking ships, this is overcome as you go to higher level fighters
Fighter now reach the enemy in two rounds and can make one strike against the opponent on the first phase if they did not flee
Fighter now have improved accuracy when hunting bombers, allowing them to make a difference in anti-bomber action
[/LIST]
[3] Bomber
[LIST=1]
Bomber modules no longer take up special slots
Bomber has two variant: anti-ship and anti-planet
Bomber modules takes a fixed 50 ton for all tech level; stats scaled appropriately
Bomber modules now provide 2 bombers each, this was done in part to balance fighter vs bomber action
Bomber stats re-balanced to give a more logical progression and scales in stats with tech level roughly the same way weapons do
Lv 3 bomber still has higher evade and lower HP than otherwise for its tech level; this was done on purpose
Bomber modules have military power that reflects that space combat capabilities
Bomber now reach the enemy in two rounds and can make one strike against the opponent on the first phase if they did not flee
[/LIST]
[4] Point Defense (PD)
[LIST=1]
PD modules no longer take up special slots
PD modules cost reduced to a level in line with other defenses
PD modules now does fixed damage and is much more effective than before in order to counter the rise of fighter/bomber as threats
PD modules have military power similar to comparable tech level defense modules
[/LIST]
[5] Technology
[LIST=1]
Two new technologies have been added to Science branch that adds passive module regeneration: Strikecraft Repair Droid under Neural Robotices (TL2) and Auto-Mending Strikecraft Hull under Tectonic Engineering (TL5)
[/LIST]
[6] Known Issues as of v1.1.17.0
[LIST=1]
This mod can be graphically intensive. My comp can handle about 100 strikecrafts without stutter, and about 200 with only lag during weapon fire, so I've set the stats in such a way that you will get 200 ish fighters at the very end of the game while equipping minimal defenses. With a more typical ship design, the end-game number will be closer to 150. Nevertheless, your computer may not like it. Well, I would dial the numbers down more, but then it wouldn't be as epic.
AI does not currently take advantage of the rule change. I'll probably work on this later. Ideas are much appreciated.
[/LIST]
[7] Things I am considering
[LIST=1]
Soliciting feedback on fighter/bomber/PD balance
Soliciting feedback on how the chassis effect of medium 2 has been moved
Rename faction-specific fighter/bomber to match their respective faction naming scheme
Adding a second tier PD to counter Lv 3 and 4 fighter/bombers
Fighter/bomber battle cards?
Fighter/bomber hero abilities?
[/LIST]
Installation Instructions
Mod files are attached to this post.
Install:
1) If not already existing, create a new folder called "Modding" in "My Documents\Endless Space\Disharmony\"
1a) If you don't know where "My Documents" is, navigate to "[DriveLetter]:\Users[AccountName]\My Documents\"
2) Unzip the zip file’s content to "My Documents\Endless Space\Disharmony\Modding", this should create a folder called "CarrierMod"
Running the mod:
1) Start the game, go to Mods on the title screen.
2) Select mod and load.
Starting the game with the mod loaded:
1) [Steamusers] Go to the "Game Library" in Steam
2) Right click Endless Space and select "Properties"
3) Click "Set Launch Options"
4) Type "+mod CarrierMod" without the quotation marks into the blank
5) Start the game
Uninstall:
1) Clear the "Set Launch Options" if you had them set
Ok guys, newly rebalanced carrier mod is done. I used stats from v1.1.17.3 of stock game to perform the balance and a ran a week's worth of test trials. I wouldn't say the balance is perfect but it is much better now. Or rather, there is any resemblance to balance at all, unlike in v1.1.14.3 beta where the weapons were so outrageously powerful that it was impossible balance fighter/bomber.
I didn't realize just how badly out of balance the stock fighter/bomber/PD was until I took on this exercise. Did you know the way things were in the stock game fighter couldn't even shoot down a bomber with out greatly outnumbering them? Or that mid-game PD couldn't take out a strikecraft even if the ship's life depended on it?
Oh sorry, I've been playing 1.1.15 beta and see how the game flows. I'll work on this again in a bit. Probably put out a new version before or around the time 1.1.15 goes live.
So the way I'm setting damage for fighter/bomber is like this:
I make a bomber carrier fleet and a few glass cannon fleet with conventional weapons and compare how effective they are at destroying a given opponent. Takes a little setting up but once I have a save with that I can run trials with different parameters. This has not been working out the best with beta's weapon vs defense issue, but it should be more effective once that's settled.
Then I set fighter damage by comparing it to bomber HP. It should high enough that fighter and tear bombers of similar tech lv apart quickly. Eventually, I will tie bomber HP to PD effectiveness.
The problem here is that its possible, depending on some of these other elements, for fighter damage to be high enough to make it an effective anti-ship weapon. Which would reduce early bombers to invasion only role.
Well, maybe it won't turn out this way once I have the PD balance put in. I'll keep in mind to adjust fighter anti-ship malus appropriately if that's the case.
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