Revamping SR2010 by modding
Posted: Sep 13 2012
Hi guys
I have not been here for a long time.
I am among those who do not like SR2020, so I am still playing the old 2010. I am wondering if it would be possible to create a user produced improvement of gamplay for SR2010 through modding. I have already made an “almost total” conversion of a strategy game before, so I have an idea of what is generally possible without having the source code. However, I think such a project could work better as a cooperative teamwork.
Here are the areas where improvements could be made:
- a reduction or modification of production capabilities of bases, airbases and ports along the lines of what Balthagor did for the WW4 map; I have checked how it works and it provides a much better game experience, reducing the chance of cluttered battles in the final phases of large maps.
- correction of minor geographic bugs regarding the location of resources in some countries; this is best done by a person coming from that country
- elimination of some less-than-useful variants of some units; for instance, the FTR version of the Eurofighter is rather redundant, as the plane is not really designed for ground attack and the INT version can launch missiles in any case; or the MBT and recon versions of the B-1 Centauro that are either non-existent or totally unfit for that role; this would reduce the maintenance effort needed to keep track of units
- rationalization of some kind of AA and AT equipments that are not likely to operate in battalion sized units; for instance, instead of having a unit that represents a FIM-92 battalion one could have an infantry battalion with a FIM-92 platoon, with AA capability but still able to fight as an infantry unit; the same for AT rockets; also, the various APC-mounted AA cannons or AT missiles could represent a battalion of said APC with a platoon of the AA-capable version attached, thus having a reduced AA capability but preserving their utility as ground units; incidentally, most of these vehicles actually operate as platoons attached to a motorized battalion or brigade
- addition of a basic missile capability for all FTR aircraft except some peculiar models like the A-10, and addition of freefall bomb construction capability for all nations; in this way, ground attacks become a bit more realistic and aircraft have less chances of being damaged when attacking common infantry
- reduction of the engineer combat capabilities so that the AI does not build hordes of combat engineers
- modification of the AI build orders so that the AI builds fewer artillery and AA units and concentrates on mobile, effective units that make it more offense-capable; and that the AI does not build naval or air transports that it never uses; of course, this will require some manual management of unit production by the human players
- addition of some new units taken from user supplied mods
- creation of new "history based" scenarios, such as the "Tripoli vs. Benghazi" struggle in Libya, or even a "what if the Arab spring had gone wrong" scenario involving the whole Mediterranean
The above modifications would, IMO, reduce the need to micromanage attachments to ground armies, allowing you to send into battle only units that are self-sufficient; they would also create nation-specific foot infantry, once the AT units are changed into “AT capable infantry battalions” equipped with that nation preferred AT rocket. And they would improve the general effectiveness of aircraft for smaller nations.
What I would REALLY like to see in the game is the ability to build manageable “task forces” of ships. Unfortunately, I have not yet found a way to do it effectively. The “Escort” command does something but is very limited.
However, is anyone interested in such an operation?
I have not been here for a long time.
I am among those who do not like SR2020, so I am still playing the old 2010. I am wondering if it would be possible to create a user produced improvement of gamplay for SR2010 through modding. I have already made an “almost total” conversion of a strategy game before, so I have an idea of what is generally possible without having the source code. However, I think such a project could work better as a cooperative teamwork.
Here are the areas where improvements could be made:
- a reduction or modification of production capabilities of bases, airbases and ports along the lines of what Balthagor did for the WW4 map; I have checked how it works and it provides a much better game experience, reducing the chance of cluttered battles in the final phases of large maps.
- correction of minor geographic bugs regarding the location of resources in some countries; this is best done by a person coming from that country
- elimination of some less-than-useful variants of some units; for instance, the FTR version of the Eurofighter is rather redundant, as the plane is not really designed for ground attack and the INT version can launch missiles in any case; or the MBT and recon versions of the B-1 Centauro that are either non-existent or totally unfit for that role; this would reduce the maintenance effort needed to keep track of units
- rationalization of some kind of AA and AT equipments that are not likely to operate in battalion sized units; for instance, instead of having a unit that represents a FIM-92 battalion one could have an infantry battalion with a FIM-92 platoon, with AA capability but still able to fight as an infantry unit; the same for AT rockets; also, the various APC-mounted AA cannons or AT missiles could represent a battalion of said APC with a platoon of the AA-capable version attached, thus having a reduced AA capability but preserving their utility as ground units; incidentally, most of these vehicles actually operate as platoons attached to a motorized battalion or brigade
- addition of a basic missile capability for all FTR aircraft except some peculiar models like the A-10, and addition of freefall bomb construction capability for all nations; in this way, ground attacks become a bit more realistic and aircraft have less chances of being damaged when attacking common infantry
- reduction of the engineer combat capabilities so that the AI does not build hordes of combat engineers
- modification of the AI build orders so that the AI builds fewer artillery and AA units and concentrates on mobile, effective units that make it more offense-capable; and that the AI does not build naval or air transports that it never uses; of course, this will require some manual management of unit production by the human players
- addition of some new units taken from user supplied mods
- creation of new "history based" scenarios, such as the "Tripoli vs. Benghazi" struggle in Libya, or even a "what if the Arab spring had gone wrong" scenario involving the whole Mediterranean
The above modifications would, IMO, reduce the need to micromanage attachments to ground armies, allowing you to send into battle only units that are self-sufficient; they would also create nation-specific foot infantry, once the AT units are changed into “AT capable infantry battalions” equipped with that nation preferred AT rocket. And they would improve the general effectiveness of aircraft for smaller nations.
What I would REALLY like to see in the game is the ability to build manageable “task forces” of ships. Unfortunately, I have not yet found a way to do it effectively. The “Escort” command does something but is very limited.
However, is anyone interested in such an operation?