[REL] [WIP] IJN DC mod

[tater]

IJN DC Mod, version 0.92
Fixes a typo in the IJN_DC.zon file that resulted in a CTD (mismatched Parent ID)
Fixed the Akizuki loadout.
Tweaked a few eqps for the ICL XPCs

DOWNLOAD:
http://mpgtext.net/subshare/241IJN%2...mod%200.92.rar

This version includes 2 new K guns (one for type 95, one for a 110kg type 2), and 4 new Y guns (2 type 9s, 2 110kg type 2s).

DCRack_SH4 (stock) = 18 Type 2 DCs (162kg warhead)
DCRack_TYPE95_1 = 18 Type 95 DCs (100kg warhead)
DCRack_TYPE95_2 = 10 Type 95 DCs
DCRack_TYPE02_1 = 18 Type 2 DCs (110kg warhead)
DCRack_TYPE02_2 = 6 Type 95/2 DCs -- parachute retarded 95s at ~100kg (I left them damage light to avoid sterns getting blown off on shallow drops)

KGun (stock) = 11 Type 2 DCs (162kg warhead)
KGun_JP_02 = 6 Type 95 DCs (100kg warhead)
KGun_JP_03 = 10 Type 95 DCs

YGun (stock) = 10 Type 2 DCs (162kg warhead)
YGun_JP_02 = 6 Type 95 DCs (3 per side of Y) (100kg warhead)
YGun_JP_03 = 10 Type 95 DCs (5 per side of Y)
YGun_JP_04 = 8 Type 2 DCs (4 per side of Y) (110kg warhead)
YGun_JP_05 = 12 Type 2 DCs (6 per side of Y) (110kg warhead)

For each DC:

Type 95:
Fall rate: 1.9 (1 for the retarded version)
Depth precision: 7
MinEF: 170
MaxEF: 220
AP:0
MinRadius: 4
MaxRadius: 16 (~100 damage at 10m)
(MaxRadius = 11 for retarded version, again, to minimize blowups)

Type 2 (110kg):
Fall rate: 3
Depth precision: 7
MinEF: 190
MaxEF: 230
AP:0
MinRadius: 4
MaxRadius: 16.5 (~100 damage at 10m)

Type 2 (162kg):
Fall rate: 3
Depth precision: 7
MinEF: 200
MaxEF: 340
AP:0
MinRadius: 4.5
MaxRadius: 25 (~100 damage at 15m)

Let me know how it works.

What 0.91 will do to gameplay:
The "easier" gameplay still applies in terms of the number of DCs that will be dropped on you before the escorts run out. As for lethality... vs stock, I think you will still see less damage. Vs RFB and TM, you will see more damage. The early war DCs are now about what you are used to in RFB/TM. The later war (1943+) large type 2 DCs are more lethal. Their min damage is slightly higher than what you are used to, and the max is 50% higher.

One-hit kills are still extremely unlikely in my testing with the type 95s and light type 2s. They are a little more likely with the large type 2 DCs.


Version 0.9 README:
First off, a huge thank you to lurker_hlb3. He made my initial DC racks and DCs for me, and has been my constant sounding board. Thanks are also due a few other people... they know who they are, <S>.

SH4 uses a single DC type. It falls at 3 m/s damages your sub out to 40m, and is used by the roll rack, Y gun, and K gun. The stock ammo load for it is 40 DCs per launcher. The 2 supermods, RFB and TM both reduce the damage radius considerably (10 and 14.5m respectively). I have the max radius out as far as 16 for the bigger DC, and 14.5 for the smaller ones (they only do ~60% the damage of stock however).

This mod adds 4 new DC types, and 4 new roll racks. The 2 throwers are unchanged other than their ammo loads. The 2 real life IJN DCs were the Type 95, and later Type 2. There was a parachute retarded version for small craft. The Type 2 had 3 different warheads, but 2 were within 5kg of each other, so I have just 1 to represent both.

Each rack launches a DC similarly named (for anyone wishing to mess with eqp files to make their own loads):

DCRack_TYPE95_1 set to 1.9m/s rate of fall, a 100kg warhead and a load of 18 DCs.

DCRack_TYPE95_2 1.9m/s fall speed, a 100kg warhead and a load of 12 DCs (I wanted more load control, largely for future, smaller subchasers, I may reduce this to 6 or 8 DCs instead, open to suggestions).

DCRack_TYPE02_1 is set to 0.8m/s fall speed (water-parachute retarded to allow small craft acting as SCs to get away), load of 6 with a ~100kg warhead so it will do for both Type 2 and Type 95 (not terribly useful for RFB/stock, but I use it for armed trawlers, and others I plan on bashing). If you are using the stock campaign, you will never see any of these, even with the mod installed.

DCRack_TYPE02_2 is a 110kg warhead, 3m/s fall speed, and load of 18.

The stock SH4 DC is a 3m/s 162kg version (unchanged from stock), load changed to 18 from 40. Radius is less than stock, but more than RFB or TM. The min radius is also upped to 5.5 so they will have full lethality a little farther out (1m farther).

The Y and K guns have loads dropped from 40 to 11 DCs carried.

The mod adds the new racks, and alters escort eqp files to add the new racks by date so that over time, the load of DCs might increase, as well as the exact type of DCs carried by any given escort.

Two versions are included. One for anyone playing with the stock SH4 campaign, and another for anyone using my campaign---either stand alone, with RFB, or TM 1.5+. They are clearly marked:

IJN DC mod v 0.9 for stock SH4 campaign

and

IJN DC mod v 0.9 forTM or ICL

drag the appropriate folder to MODs and install. Note that this needs to be installed AFTER either RFB or TM.


What this will do to gameplay:
This mod will make the game easier, not harder, in general. It grossly reduces the number of ashcans carried by escorts for the entire war. It will reduce the effectiveness of attacks, particularly early war. You will be held down, but not destroyed as often.

In the case of TM, because the AI is "harder" this mod will serve as yet another way to tweak the AI to your liking. Instead of nerfing the sensors (explained in the TM FAQ), you might try using this to nerf the DCs, instead. You will be attacked just as often, but they will have fewer DCs to drop, and early in the war, they will be less effective.

In both TM and RFB it will make the damage due to the stock DC a little worse. The radius is slightly increased both min and max, so damage a little farther out, and hitpoint damage about a meter farther out. Right now during the whole war, thrown DCs will fire the stock DC until I make new launchers. Rolled DCs upgrade tot he 162kg warhead version (stock SH4 DC) after various months in 1943 depending on the ship. The increased damage for the big type 2s is of course mitigated by far fewer carried DCs. Avoid getting hit! Fight the boat!

I am publishing this looking for feedback, it's very subjective what works and what doesn't.

As always, anyone is free to use this in any other mods with credits (don't forget lurker!) as long as it's not a commercial product. Drop me a line if you do, I might have a better internal build for you that would save you having to patch.

tater

[Rockin Robbins]

This sounds like just what the doctor ordered. I was afraid that it might make the game to easy, but it sounds like everything is well within the bounds of reason. Sign me on at the end of this cruise and I'll give you a report.

[GerritJ9]

Downloaded it, will give it a spin and see what it does!

[leovampire]

LOL anyways glad you got it done as I know you have been working on this for a while now from all the posts I have read on what you were researching and finding out about how it all works. Time consuming process to say the lest.

[Digital_Trucker]

just finished a patrol and can plug this in and take her for a spin. Thanks to you and the "lurking one" for all the work on it

[panthercules]

Sounds cool - yet one more reason to have to start my career over again. At this rate, I may never finish a patrol, much less a career

As it turns out, while I was using your campaign at some point, it seems to have disappeared from my setup during the various re-installs. Can you point me to a link to the latest/best version of your campaign that I should be using with RFB 1.31 and this DC mod?

[ReallyDedPoet]

Nice work on this tater, look forward to trying it out


RDP

[leovampire]

These do not need for you to restart anything. Just should be added in base or port what ever you want to say before you leave for a new patrol.

These are not the type's of files that change the layers of the game. This control's the actual DC setting's and what ship's have them and how many.

[tater]

Exactly, leo.

They alter the stock DC files inside Library, add 3 more DC files there. Inside ShipParts, they alter 1 existing file, and add 3 more. In the Sea folder, they replace eqp files only (with 1 exception in the ICL/TM version that has a ship cfg change to add a loadout for future use)

tater

[panthercules]

That's good to know, but since my copy of the new campaign mod seems to have disappeared somewhere along the way and I figure I'll need/want to add that in while I'm adding this in, I figured I'd need to do that while in port (and since I just started over again completely for the latest ROW and am only a couple of days out of port on my first patrol, I figured I might as well start completely over again for this anyway).

BTW - any link to the latest/best version of the improved campaign mod to use with this Tater? I'm dying to get started and check this puppy out, and I want to make sure I've got the right combination to go on top of my RFB 1.31 install

[edit] LOL - I was looking so hard through all the old pages for this thing that I forgot to check the stickied threads - I take it that version 0.78 from that thread is the right one to use with this?

[tater]

I have made a test version withthe DC damage upped quite a bit (the large type 2---what we are all used to as standard---set to have a 16m radius, and a damage range of 340 to 500 instead of 170 to 230.

The 170-230 with a 40m radius is more dnagerous as far as I can tell. I had ONE standard DC blow up almost touching an aft mounted deck gun on tambor, and it crippled me. I had one of my super DCs explode in a similar place and it did far less damage. There is more to the min/max radii than I understand I think.

I'm beginning to think that radius might be a poor thing to mod, that or the damage values will have to go WAY up.

I think a single DC going off next to the hull should be GRAVE if not instantly fatal.

tater

[Wilcke]

Tater,

currently in Manila, loading up more torps and heading back out to hunt that huge invasion fleet.

I have been subjected to 4 really good depth charge attacks so far...but no damage. Will add your mod and go after them again. Looking forward to checking out the new mod.

Thanks

Wilcke

[tater]

What are people's experiences with RFB and TM regarding DC attacks (without this mod)?

I'm a little confused, some of the changes I recently tested haven't done what I expected. Upping DC damage by 2X seemed to have no real effect, and I retested the same mission with stock DCs (including radius) and they were more deadly than the doubled damage version. In both cases I was looking for near contact detonations, so you'd think the radius would have no bearing on the damage, just the damage min and max values.

tater

[tater]

DCs are giving me fits. That and the sub DM.

Something is very screwy. I tested looking for drops that resulted in near contact hits on a tambor, 1943. I lucked out, and managed a few tests with nearly identical hits. The hits were just abaft of the conning tower, a little above the deck gun in height. Well within 4m of the deck.

A stock DC (170 to 230 HP, 4.5m min, 40m max radius) nearly sank the boat. Loads of damage to systems, and a few "1" bulkhead damages.

I tested the mod I posted altered for the 162kg DC did 340 to 500 HP damage, with the radii set to 5.5m min, and 16 max. An almost identical hit did a bunch of damage, but not nearly as critical as the stock DC.

The radius is far more important than the HP value, I'm beginning to think the RFB/TM method of dropping the radius is making DCs far too weak. Note that I entirely agree with the goals of DC changes in both mods—a lot of DC attacks, but more survivable due to complex reasons in the game (when they do drop, they are depth accurate in aim, etc.). My goal is not uber DCs, but I think that DCs that are in contact, or nearly in contact should have a good chance to cripple the boat, while DCs farther out (past maybe 15m or so) should do nearly nothing at all other than shake the boat. The exact certain death radius, etc is a gameplay tweak, but I'd like it to be possible. Note that in testing sub DMs I put every single torpedo from a fleet boat into an S boat and never once got her to sink.

I'm going to test a stock DC with a small radius (~16) and a HUGE HP value, with a small range (like 900 min, 1000 max) and see what happens.

Actually, I think I need to test/tweak until a DC going off inside 6m sinks a sub, any sub, with 1 hit every time. I'd have the range of damage values vary by 1 HP. 999 to 1000, for example. That would be a boundry value, not what I'd use to play.

Then I can dial down the min damage to control the % of sure kills inside 6m. If 800 is massive damage inside 6m, and 1000 is a 100% kill, then an 800-1000 range might give desired results for a close drop. I could also make the min range considerably lower to create variablity/playability.

Then I can look at the radius and how it affects things. Right now as I see it sub damage is VERY sensitive to max radius, and pretty insensitive to DC damage max/min.

The issue with just upping the radius seems to be cumulative damage. With an ahistorically high radius (the stock 40m), there is the chance that many DCs too far away to do damage in RL might cripple the sub via a lot of small hp damage.

tater

[tater]

Just tested a DC with 5.5m min radius, 16m max, minEF 950, maxEF 1000.

DC explodes just abaft of the port forward dive plane, almost in contact. Bulkhead 100% destroyed, DP transmission destroyed, no other damage.

The max radius is the critical value, a stock DC doing 170-230 damage would have don FAR more general damage.

I took a few more fairly close hits, one in about the same place, and when I went below 120 feet due to flooding, I crushed. The HP damage was obviously severe.

tater