Terrain and Attrition

[Weijun]

I want to tinker with terrain and attrition values to increase the relative importance of the navy and railroads in-game, as well as making it difficult for low-tech armies to conquer difficult terrain.

If successful, these changes will set natural limits on expansion, along the lines of how V:R changed colonization. Furthermore, European powers would derive their advantage from the navy and techs, possibly obviating the need for the civilized/primitive tag. Coastal provinces would be much easier to conquer than inland ones, adding some realism.

So, my basic goals are:

1) Attrition

A. Set a high base rate of attrition for land units
B. Have certain terrain types cause significantly more attrition
C. Significantly increase the stacking penalty on attrition
D. Have techs (particularly ones that increase org) reduce attrition
E. Have ports and railroads reduce attrition
F. Have ships in an adjacent sea-zone reduce attrition (similar to shore-bombardment)
​

2) Land Speed

A. Significantly increase the movement penalties over difficult terrain
B. Increase the speed for moving along rivers
​

Not having any real modding experience, I need some help.

Terrain

• What is the difference between "Terrain Types" in the map folder and "Topology" and "Vegetation" in the db folder?
• In Terrain types and Topology does "River" mean moving along or across rivers?

Attrition

• How do I modify the base attrition of units? (e.g. can I just add the attribute to infantry in the units folder?)
• Text and newtext in the config folder have many useful variables about attrition. Where do I apply them?

I would appreciate any advice or suggestions. Thanks.

 

[Weijun]

Update 1

Adding a line attrition = X to a file in the db\units folder crashes the game. I have pored over just about every file in the Victoria directory, and am starting to suspect that base attrition may not be modifiable.

I suppose I could do something as clumsy as creating an event that fires on day 1, increasing everyone's attrition, but that would be far from ideal.

If anyone has advice, I would appreciate it.

 

[Weijun]

Update 2

Well, as far as I can tell, text.csv, newtext.csv, and extratext.csv only modify what is displayed on-screen, rather than the value of the underlying variables. Perhaps someone with modding experience can give a definitive answer, but my tentative conclusion is that base attrition and terrain-based attrition are not modifiable.

 

[Weijun]

Update 3

Some progress. As far as I can tell, the attrition_mod variable only decreases attrition, but cannot add to it. The good news is that leader traits actually affect attrition. Potentially, I could modify all the leader traits to add attrition, and then have attrition reduction through techs.

I also found that I could increase attrition by lowering the reliability of units. While high levels of desertions is a great way to get attrition, I do not want to increase the chances of divisions defecting.

The other variable that I would really like to dig into is the stacking penalty. Boy, would I love to send that one through the roof.

I understand there is little interest in attrition, but any feedback or advice is appreciated.

 

[Weijun]

Update 4

Does the attrition modifier work?

I had a leader with +20 attrition. Between his incompetence, the climate, and desertions, I was losing 32% a month. Swell. Through custom events, I reduced the attrition_mod to 40%, confirmed in the save file. However, attrition stayed at 32%.

So, does Combat Medicine, or any other reduction in attrition actually do anything?

I have been experimenting with uncivs, so that might make a difference. More to follow.

 

[Weijun]

Update 5

Okay, so being a little more systematic about it, the sources for attrition are:

1) Desertions = 10 - Reliability
2) Bad Climate = (30 - Life Rating)/5 + 1 for Desert or cold
3) Commanding Officer = Attrition Value
4) Pay (underfunded military) = Instant Attrition
5) Stacking Penalty = Works, but not sure of the formula
6) Adjacent Forts = Works, but not sure of the formula

My experiments have found that the attrition_mod value has no effect on 1-3. 4 is a non-issue, but I cannot confirm whether it affects 5 or 6.

In a perfect world, I would make 1, 2, and 5 several times worse, but get better with techs. However, thus far, I have only been able to change the reliability of units, Officer traits, and the Life Ratings of provinces. Once again, any advice is appreciated.