Need Help Bermuda Upgrade Tweaks/LearnToModQ's

[Davies_Undead_Cousin]

Hi,
I'm interested in customizing the Bermuda Upgrade aspects of CoaS. I've looked over the "Pirates_Shipyard.c" file and don't quite understand how the coding calculates the actual improvement, while other aspects seem more obvious like the amount of materials and cost of upgrade. I've added the BNA CM 3.2 mods that allow point of sail upgrades in just a CM 3.2 install, and comparing the differences between "Pirates_Shipyard.c" before and after (Using ExamDiff). With the added PointofSail entries I realize it is more involved than the first 20-30 lines of the code in the file so..

I specifically am asking First: How to adjust the total improvement value for each of the ship stats?
(What decides the increase value?)
And Second: The details may take too much to explain so this is more optional on your part but; How PointofSail is added as an option and perhaps what other options could be added. (How sail color/Rigging had been added possibly also?)
And Third: Although partially offtopic I'm unsure whether its worth a new thread; How the game calculates cannon/calverine range/accuracy?
(specifically how to modify those two aspects)

These are basically the changes I'd like to learn how to make and 'Sail with' while I await for a more stable GoF that this machine can handle. I've searched the forum and find indirect or incomplete answers for these questions. Google doesn't seem to provide CoaS modding Tutorials either. Thank you folks for your time.

 

[Luke159]

Looking at the file you should be able to add "Pirates_Shipyard.C" from GOF 1.2 into your CMV3.2 game overwriting the old file (back it up first though) and it should work with all the new changes to the upgrades.

 

[Davies_Undead_Cousin]

Thank you, after a much more thorough inspections of the Pirates_Shipyard.C file and comparing the two files for changes I've found the exact lines that 'calculate' the price and improvement values when visiting Bermuda. Most multiply then divide by what the ships stats already are. I'm not sure how to add that functionality from Bermuda to the other shipyards although something like copy and pasting but changing the foreman names may work.

As for Cannon Accuracy I still am in the dark as to how the game figures that. Although on one glitchy playthrough it showed the aiming reticule/line and how it travels lengthwise along your target repeatedly, far to the front and back of your target. I've noticed that with experienced crew and high accuracy skills you don't tend to miss as much as it might suggest so maybe the higher those values the less it aims for water infront or behind of a target.

I've personally up'ed the cannon ball damage value because I couldn't understand why 25-40 cannons point blank couldn't damage class 5-3 ships very fast. I understand the HP is high to simulate armor but 600-1600 cannonballs at 'kill angles' on a single ship seems like it would do some kind of crippling damage. I dont intend to carry 4000 cannonballs to defend myself against 2 class 4 ships all the time when I've sacrificed cargo for more powerful cannons.

Alas, I'm not so privy to Historical Accuracy, but more to the imagination of a cannonball blasting the woodwork around me and not just bouncing off.

 

[Luke159]

There has been much changed for this, i guess you played with RTBL on?

There is a video i just uploaded showing a test run i did on RTBL, although my focus on this test was crew damage which you can sede here, http://www.piratesahoy.net/threads/gentlemen-of-fortune-2-0-beta.19345/page-3#post-431940.

Not sure about how the game takes your skill and how that in turn effects your aiming. I know it does it that way but how or where to look or even what to look for is something i have never done.

 

[Davies_Undead_Cousin]

There has been much changed for this, i guess you played with RTBL on?

Yes, I like the rest of how it plays like the reloading times and changes to the cannons, just not the lack of effectiveness for sinking a ship when your literally just skirting boarding range for max damage.

I only made changes by increasing the hull damage of Cannon Balls, lowering the hull damage of Bombs and raising the Crew Damage of Bombs slightly since shrapnel does such horrendous damage to the human body in real life and I see bombs as a more "Generalized Damage" since the casing is hollow (Less solid mass) and the explosives are fiery (combustion scorches sails, humans, and wood).

Before these tweaks I would never carry Cannon Balls because I simply couldn't sink ships fast enough before purposely avoiding boarding several times just to ram more Bombs down their throat before they obliterated my sails.

As for the Accuracy and Aiming calculations and I assume projectile trajectory [could be indirect or directly coded honestly( in Rome: Total war it is decided by min and max angle and then one final value for precision: "ability to hit the same mark multiple times")], I'll have to dig through some files to see but so far I've only used Notepad and what I assume is Russian commentary is just bogus default characters. Who knows if I'll find anything, and there isn't much I want to change unless even with max skill and with no sails your still playing with an invisible indicator that aims for water. I don't like the idea that an expert still has to miss because I didn't click a quarter second before or after I did when the variables aren't changing.

 

[Luke159]

Personally i would like to see bombs range been swapped with the grape shot range or even bombs removed because they are not historically correct. I haven't looked into that but will most likely do so at a later date. I like how you are thinking though with the bombs, and might change that to be the same for now. Or you could upload your changes and i will look into them and see what i can do.

In ships_init there is code for min and max angle for each ship (this might be of interest to you). But with some code all over the place you will have to look through a lot of files, but the ships_init file would be the first place i would suggest looking in, and then SEA_AI folder.