DICTATOR ToT - DEVELOPMENT THREAD!

[curtsibling]

Originally posted by fairline


nice one Curt

I trust we'll be seeing the pics of you in full batman cape and mortarboard

Seeing me in the full ludicrous highwayman outfit is something I will spare you all from!

[curtsibling]

OK, here is my final Dictator changes checklist!



*Tie the USA's war entry to the Pearl Harbor event.

*Apply stacked terrain to all areas.

*Put Canadian cities into US Allied control.

*Put Dutch East Indies cities into Commonwealth control.

*Give German units all a firepower rating of '2'.

*Reduce Japanese airpower potency a tad.

*Reduce tech rate from 60 to 35.

*Make banks buildable to all warring civs.

*Events-create more threatening attacks on the Allies from Japan.

*Rename the 'Pocket Battleship' to 'Bismarck Class'.

Does this all sound OK?

If so, I will forge ahead and make the changes!

[AGRICOLA]

I need thicker glasses

Naval units at the start of the scen have Role = 0 = Attack, not Role = 2 = Naval Superiority.
Apologies for my previous error.

Does this all sound OK?

It is as good a compromise as can be expected in this complex scenario which needs to follow a lengthy list of historical events. Among other things, you are trying to reconcile two conflicting demands: if a human is playing a civ, you don't want the civ to be too strong, whereas, if the AI controls it, you want it as strong as possible.

Unfortunately, events that affect a civ cannot be tailored to whether the civ is human or AI controlled unless there is a separate events file for each human controlled civ. I think that you have done as much as can be done with a single events file.

*Give German units all a firepower rating of '2'.

In a way this answers one of my unposted questions as to why, after campaigns in Poland, Scandinavia and France, most of the German air and ground units are not vets at the start of the scen. Increasing their firepower would definitely fix this.


The checklist looks fine to me. Go with it after you have recovered from your graduation party.

[curtsibling]

Thanks, old chap!

That reminds me, I will go around the units and add the 'Veteran' tag where it seems right...

Germany should get a good share of this!



PS
I don't drink, so I will be back to work as soon as the humiliation of wearing a Batman outfit is over!

[tanelorn]

Congratulations on your graduation Curt

[Patine]

@Curt: Sorry my playtesting has been a bit stunted, but I've been distracted lately. Tell you what, I'll do the Japanese test for you, and give you a full replort, once you've set it up so I can capture the East Indies.

[curtsibling]

Originally posted by tanelorn
Congratulations on your graduation Curt

Thanks, bro!

The day of silliness comes tomorrow - Should be interesting!

[curtsibling]

Originally posted by Patine
@Curt: Sorry my playtesting has been a bit stunted, but I've been distracted lately. Tell you what, I'll do the Japanese test for you, and give you a full replort, once you've set it up so I can capture the East Indies.

No sweat!

If you can wait till Thursday - I will post up that version!

[techumseh]

Hey Curt, congratulations on your graduation!

[curtsibling]

Cheers man!

The ceremony was typically British, all pomp and ceremony.



I got hit over the head with a velvet cap by the chancellor
and it seems I am now a Bachelor of the Arts, with honours...

The upside of the costume affair was that the cloak came with a cool
hood that allowed for some hilarious Emperor Palpatine impersonations!

"My resolve is as strong as ever!"

[Cyrion]

Originally posted by curtsibling
The upside of the costume affair was that the cloak came with a cool
hood that allowed for some hilarious Emperor Palpatine impersonations!

"My resolve is as strong as ever!"

And congrats, BTW

[AGRICOLA]

Just a brief note before you finalize things.

1. The Chinese tried to bribe Germans with a tech and 500 gold to attack Japanese in Sept '41. If the Germans accept, the Tripartite deal is voided, units are withdrawn and the two Axis members are at war. Interesting

2. It appears that the Rocket AA Battery improvement can be built only by the Soviets because Soviet Goverment is one of the prerequisites. Is this what you intend?

3. Could you give a bit of thought to the cost vs effectiveness of engineers. I understand your reluctance to make them true engineers rather than settlers: that might make any Blitzkrieg too fast. However, some industrial development is needed by all civs. The 150 shield cost seems like a very high price for settlers. I'd suggest that they shouldn't cost more than the 50 shields that are needed for most of the generic air and ground units.

Another approach might be to make them true engineers but raise their price to 200 or 250 shields. The cost and time needed to build them would limit the number that anyone is going to be willing to acquire.

4. Is there a way that everyone could have embassies but still be unable to communicate? It would be nice if there was at least some information about the other civs.

[curtsibling]

Originally posted by AGRICOLA
Just a brief note before you finalize things.

Lucky I noticed this post, I was about to post v5!

Originally posted by AGRICOLA 1. The Chinese tried to bribe Germans with a tech and 500 gold to attack Japanese in Sept '41. If the Germans accept, the Tripartite deal is voided, units are withdrawn and the two Axis members are at war. Interesting

Is this a little exploit that might be interesting enough to keep?

Originally posted by AGRICOLA
2. It appears that the Rocket AA Battery improvement can be built only by the Soviets because Soviet Goverment is one of the prerequisites. Is this what you intend?

Ooops!

It should be rocketry!

Changing it!

Originally posted by AGRICOLA
3. Could you give a bit of thought to the cost vs effectiveness of engineers. I understand your reluctance to make them true engineers rather than settlers: that might make any Blitzkrieg too fast. However, some industrial development is needed by all civs. The 150 shield cost seems like a very high price for settlers. I'd suggest that they shouldn't cost more than the 50 shields that are needed for most of the generic air and ground units.

I have taken your advice and changed it...

Originally posted by AGRICOLA
Another approach might be to make them true engineers but raise their price to 200 or 250 shields. The cost and time needed to build them would limit the number that anyone is going to be willing to acquire.

I would have to give up the Mustang's placing and move around loads of textfile data...

I might just leave them in the settler slot for ease of use...
No terraforming happens in this scenario, so settler types are fine...

Originally posted by AGRICOLA
4. Is there a way that everyone could have embassies but still be unable to communicate? It would be nice if there was at least some information about the other civs.

I wish there was, Agricola - But seems a limitation of the ToT engine...

No talking means no embassy info, unlike MGE...

[curtsibling]

Nice one, Agricola - You helped me sort out some last moment bugs!

[AGRICOLA]

Is this a little exploit that might be interesting enough to keep?

Why not? It and a few unmentionable things could make it it a free-for-all fight with just about everybody fighting everybody else.

There seems to be no risk of Germany conquering the world. The defences are too strong and the buildup of forces too slow for that. At the end of '41, Germany has finally managed to capture Britain and close off the Med and capture all the cities around it. IMO, not a very scintillating performance by the Blitzkrieg Boyos. On the other hand, it is probably not far off what they could have accomplished if they had followed the strategy later suggested by some military historians.

The AI Japanese have been making painfully slow progress in China, particularly in the north where there are large garrisons in all Chinese cities. There, it's been very much a classic AI CIV2 fight, with enough casualties to satisfy the most dedicated gravedigger.

Looking forward to v5.