[MOD] Ankagalon's Military Rework

[Ankagalon]

The mod expands the original functionality for Barracks and Conscription Centers and adds an entirely new General Staff building with its own production methods. The ultimate goal is to provide a much more detailed and nuanced experience of fine-tuning your military and utilizing it on the battlefield.

The purpose of the mode is to provide greater opportunity to customize the military and create a more detailed simulation of warfare that accounts for the advances in military art beyond the mere changes in equipment while retaining as much of the vanilla game’s balancing as possible. The new opportunities provided by the rework enable a quality-focused approach to military – something that is sorely lacking in the vanilla – and, thus, give smaller nations that are willing to invest in a well-trained military and the art of war a shot at defeating larger foes.

New Production Methods

• Specialist Companies now has Irregular Cavalry, Light Cavalry, and Heavy Cavalry options for Barracks and Conscription Centers to slightly boost unit stats and the number of provinces captured.
• No more soldiers going to battle au naturelle – the Uniforms production method for Barracks and Conscription Centers requires you to provide your troops with appropriate clothing, from the splendid Napoleonic-style uniforms to modern camouflage.
• Exclusive for the Barracks, the Service Term production methods provide percentage-based bonuses to the troops’ combat performance at the expense of increased materiel usage, making your well-trained regulars considerably superior to mobilized conscripts even if the latter use the same weapons.
  
  

The General Staff
The General Staff is an entirely new one-per-country building. Soon after researching the corresponding technology (or right at the start of the game, if you already have it), the building will appear at your capital. Similar to the University, the General Staff consumes paper (and later other goods) to provide a bit of innovation, but its true utility lies in the numerous production methods divided into four groups:

• Staff Officer Education reduces military technology cost and defines the amount of innovation produced
• Tactics provide percentage-based bonuses to the units’ offense, defense, kill rate, casualty reduction, moral damage, etc.
• Operational Art slightly boosts combat performance and increases the multipliers used to calculate the number of battalions participating in battles. If you are frustrated by the randomness in the troop numbers in battles, your salvation is at hand. While there is still some small room for chance to account for the fog and friction of war, advanced operational art ensures that you utilize a larger proportion of your forces in each given battle. A military making full use of the Deep Operations doctrine will outnumber the enemy who still thinks in Napoleonic terms in every exchange despite having less battalions on the frontline!
• Strategy provides several options to account for your overall approach to war, depending on whether you intend to smite your foes in decisive pitched battles or outlast the enemy with the sheer staying power of your robust military-industrial complex

Version 1.1

Version 1.1 offers the player to further customize their military by personally governing the development of military hardware in the age when weapon technology was progressing at an astounding pace. Once the player researches Rifles, Repeaters, or Bolt-Action Rifles, the game offers the opportunity to develop a new weapon from scratch through a metoculously detailed process, modeling its killing rate, effective range and reliability and getting all the associated bonuses for your military. Be aware, though, that the best-performing designs tend to be complex - and, as such, lower the throughput of your weapons industry.

Naturally, the entire thing is optional: players may opt to either buy licenced rifles or just ignore the changes and play as vanilla game would have them to.

As of now, weapon development is only present for rifles. Should this mod elicit positive (or, honestly, any) response, it will eventually expand to artillery and, God forbid, armored vehicles.

The update also fixes some small issues with the mod's original state - for instance, now "Camouflaged Uniforms" production method actually requires dyes.

Installation

1. Unpack the archive into your mod folder – default is "C:\Users\username\Documents\ParadoxInteractive\Victoria 3\mod".
2. Enable the mod by creating a new playset in the Paradox Launcher or adding it to the existing one.
3. If that fails for some reason, you can always copy the archive contents directly into “Victoria 3\game”, since it does not replace any of the original files

Known Issues

• Building interface on the State tab only has space for up to five Production Methods, so, in order to govern the Uniforms and Service term production methods, you'd have to go to the Buildings tab.
• Since the multipliers to the number of battalions participating in battle are coded directly into command values, the game cannot show them in the description of the production method effects for the Operational Art.
• The game runs checks after every wargoal enforced, peace treaty signed, and on a monthly basis to ensure there is only one General Staff per country, and it automatically deletes all General Staffs that are not located in a nation’s capital state. If you lose or move your capital, there is a decision to reestablish the General Staff in the new capital state. Since the regular checks are monthly, a nation could theoretically own more than one General Staff for a couple of weeks, but the game would eliminate it in a very short time span.
• There is only one man developing and testing this mod, so some errors are bound to slip throgh. I would be thoroughly grateful to be informed about those so that I could fix them and provide everyone with a better experience with this mod.

 

[Ankagalon]

Version 1.2

Version 1.2 adds the development of artillery pieces, from the relatively simple rifled muzzle-loaders to modern quick-firing guns and devastating heavy artillery.

Other changes:
- Uniforms production methods now include Body Armor, further boosting the units' defense.
- Artillery production methods slow the armies down to account for moving heavy equipment over difficult terrain.
- Certain strategic and operational doctrines in the General Staff increse the front advancement speed, alowing to enforce battles upon the enemy faster.
- Minor balancing tweaks and bugfixes

 

[Ankagalon]

Version 1.3

This update reworks the mod to work with the game's version 1.3. and adds the following changes:

Horsebreeding
If you ever wondered (as I did) why the most important source of energy in pre-industrial age, aka the humble horse, was absent in the game entirely focused on the Industrial Revolution, wonder no more. Horses are here, in all their glory and splendor, to fuel the nation's economic and military efforts - together with or instead of machines.

- Livestock Ranches now have Horsebreeding production methods to supply the nation with Draft, War, and Race horses.

- Stage Stations - a new Private Infrastructure building that consumes horses and produces services and infrastructure. A neat alternative for the pre-industrial nations that need to boost their infrastructure without the know-how of resources to build railways.

- Logistics production methods for Barracks and Conscription Centers offer a plethora of options to supply (or not) your troops and provide the according bonuses or maluses.

Other Changes
- A new Mounted Infantry production method added to Barracks and Conscription Centers (unlocked by recearshing repeating rifles, found between Skirmish Infantry and Trench Infantry). If you ever wanted to roleplay as Boers, you can now.
- Some production methods for military buildings now consume horses.
- New production methods for Transportation and Automation branches in rural buildings, such as horse mills, dedicated heavy wagons, etc. Essentially a pre-steam option to decrese the staffing required using horses instead of coal and engines.
- Interface tweaks to make all new production methods fit neatly into the existing panels.

N.B.: If you install this mod by copying the files into the game folders, there are two files (building_details_panel.gui and production_methods.gui) that replace the game's origilal files. All they do is change the interface to accomodate the new production methods.

As always, please notify me if there are issues with the mod.

 

[Ankagalon]

Version 1.4, or Now It's All about the Navies.

Naval Bases

- Complete overhaul of the building totaling 27 production method groups and more than 100 interrelated production methods.

- Five classes of ships - Capital, Medium, Light, Submarines and Carriers.
- Multiple options to hand-pick your ships' primary and secondary armament, battery outline, hull and armor, propulsion, and fire control systems.
- Reworked and increased combat performance and goods demands, especially for the later ship types. Remember the dev diary proclaiming "War is Costly"? Yeah, that. If you want to historically accurately bankrupt yourself during a South American dreadnought race, now's as good a time as any.

- Because of the above: an option to mothball capital ships and rely on other types. A navy consisting solely of armored cruisers and destroyers may lack the punching power of battleship armadas yet still represent a decent fighting force - one that is affordable to less affluent nations of the world.

(Also, it is the way to circumvent downsizing naval bases to cut your expenses because wayting for the newly built base to hire personnel for years on end is way too fun).

Other Changes

- Several journal entries (Ironclad Warfare, Monitor Warfare, etc.) modfied to work with the new production methods.
- Interface tweaks to allow all production methods fit intoi the existing panels.

Coming next, a similar (also not as cumbersome) rework of the Barracks - with armament types, training regimen, and, hoo-boy, even an armored vehicle designer that you will never be able to use because good luck researching Mobile Armor before the end of the game in 1.3 version.


N.B.: If you install this mod by copying the files into the game folders, there are two files (building_details_panel.gui and production_methods.gui) that replace the game's origilal files. All they do is change the interface to accomodate the new production methods.

As always, please notify me if there are issues with the mod.

 

[Ankagalon]

Version 1.4.1

- Naval productions methods rebalanced to be significantly cheaper for a less realistic but, hopefully, more entertaining gameplay.
- Stage Stations produce a bit more Services to make them slightly less of a drain on the budget.
- Stage Stations building icon now reflects its production of services.
- Fixed an issue with displaying production methods on the building details panel.
- Other tweaks and minor changes.

 

[ProfBooks]

Just wanted to say, love your mod, keep up the good work and please post this as well on the Steam page

 

[Ankagalon]

ProfBooks, thank you kindly! It means a lot to me.​

As for the updates, I absolutely intend to continue working on the mod but, for now, I decided to take a break until Paradox releases the big military update they have promised in August, so that I could continue working on that basis. ​

 

[Ankagalon]

Version 1.5

This update reworks the mod to work with the game's version 1.5 and includes the following features:

- New Unit Types, including Strategic Cavalry (reflecting Moltke's reconnaissance cavalry divisions or Stuart's and Mamontov's raids), Horse Artillery, Heavy Artillery, Motorized Infantry, Mechanized Infantry, etc. The gist is to provide the players with some tradeoff options alongside the straight-up upgrades.

- New Mobilization Options groups, such as Uniforms,. Communications and AIr Force, as well as additional options for the already existing groups. Most of those have additional impact on potential battle conditions (for instance, better logistics reduces chances of broken supply lines). Good uniforms, well-established logistics, and medical service also go a long way to alleviate attrition casualties.

- Officer Corps law group, regulating who has the rights to hold commissions. Comes with actual modifiers to which pops are more likely to become Officers.

Weapons Design

- Small Arms Design Bureau, a new building that you may create after researching Percussion Cap, enables the player to meticulously design primary light weapons for the military, from percussion muskets to semi-autiomatic rifles. The players may customize the gun type, receiver, ammunition, magazine and sights (the number of options is subject to further expansion). This building replaces the previously used firearms development mechanic through events.

- Institute of Explosive Compounds (unlocked by researching Nitroglycerin) works in much the same manner, allowing to customize propellants and explosive fillers for small arms and land or naval artillery. N.B: While double-base smokeless powders become available immediately after researching dynamite (for the lack of a more appropriate later technology), it comes with a heavy penalty to explosives production throughput, which is rectified by later advances in chemistry. This is done to better simulate the dificulty in developing stable smokeless powders suited for large-scale production, which was only historically achieved by the very end of the 19th century.

- General Staff, Stage Stations and Horsebreeding work much the same way they used to.

I was not able to properly test this version with Paradox Launcher, so I STRONGLY advise installing it by copying the archive contents in the game folder. It does replace some of the original files, but nothing major or game-breaking. Works like a charm for me, but if you experience problems, please message me.

Coming next - Design Bureaus for artillery, ships, automatic arms and armored vehicles (not necessarily in that order), hopefully coupled with new battlefield conditions as well.

 

[Ankagalon]

Version 1.5.1

Artillery Design Bureau

This new building, unlocked byu researching Shell Gun, allows developing artillery pieces for one's military. The player has the option to customize gun type and operation, caliber, carriage, and shell type.

Artillery Munitions

A new Mobilization Options group that represents munitions used by the artillery aside from the bog-standard solid shot and canister. After all (and as many armies found during the FIrst World War), having good guns is not the same as having enough high-explosive shells for them!

Other Changes

- Shrapnel Artillery renamed to Breech-Loading Artillery because that's what it is and, come on, shrapnel has been used since the 18th century.
- New choices for Secondary Equipment mobilization options group - Enhineers, Personal Entrenching Equipment and Barbed Wire, all improving the units' defence.
- Fixed the error that enabled existence of multiple design bureaus of the same type simultaneously.
- Other minor changes.

On a side note: folks, do you think there is any reason to work on armored vehicles development if, given the game's current balance, the chances of researching Mobile Armor before 1936 are negligible?

 

[Ankagalon]

Version 1.5.2

New Unit Types added for navies - Battlecruisers for Capital Ships, Commerce Raiders, Blockade Runners, and Armored Corvettes for Light Ships and Experimental Submarines, Protected Cruisers, and Armored Cruisers for Escort Ships.

Design Bureaus for Light, Capital, and Escort ships alike. Customize ship type, armament and its layout, armor, power source and propulsion system - the world is your oyster!

Other Changes

- New unit images for multiple unit types.
- Secondary Weapons mobilization options are split into Secondary Weapons and Secondary Equpment to avoid unnecessary clutter.
- New bonuses to Convoy Defense, Convoy Raiding and Interception for naval units depending on unit types.
- Reduced pop demand for Draft Horses so that pops would gravitate more toward buying railroad transportation and automobiles rather than inflating demand for horses beyond reason.
- Other tweaks and minor changes.

 

[Ankagalon]

Version 1.5.3

Service Exemptions - a new law group defining which, if any, social groups are exempt from military service. Adds an additional layer of planning to balance training rate and avasilable conscript numbers against monetary and other benefits.

Military Doctrine - a new production method group for General Staff that conceptualizes the place of wars and the army within the larger framework of the country's institutions and policies.

Explosives Expanded
- Explosives Industries now have a secondary option of Nitrocellulose Production, allowing producing additional explosives by nitrating wood or cotton.

- SInce in-game "Sulphur" obviously includes mineral nitrates, farm buildings now have a secondary Saltpeter Production PMG, allowing them to make saltpeter from fertilizer the old-fashioned way. A useful - and historically accurate! - option for nations that otherwise lack raw materials for gunpowder production.

Other Changes

- Military Settlements law in Army Model lawgroup - available only to countries with heavy state interference in the economy and making the army largely self-sustaining in exchange for worse combat performance.
- Tactics production methods in the General Staff now give fixed unit-specific modifiers (in particular, Cold Steel makes melee cavalry somewhat useful in the early game)
- Changing production methods in design bureaus implements a heavy penalty to the building’s throughput and all associated bonuses, which then gradually decreases over the next 12 months (similar to the PM readjustment for Barracks before 1.5). This encourages the player to change to the desired configuration at least a year in advance rather than do it a day before the war declaration and get all the bonuses immediately.
- Increased penalties to Small Arms production throughput due to designing more advanced weapons in Small Arms Design Bureau.

 

[Ankagalon]

Version 1.5.3a

- Bugfixes and minor tweaks for 1.5.3