User avatar
Captain_Orso
Posts: 5766
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 5:02 pm
Location: Stuttgart, Germany

Alternate Areas for Building Artillery

Tue Apr 03, 2012 10:56 pm

As per the "ACW Updates", if I as the Union am not producing WS in Kansas nor or have enough loyalty in St Louis, I cannot build batteries in those states, but I am still able to purchase them and have them built in "Alternate Areas". Where are these "Alternate Areas" defined?

--

I've been able to build a number of Missouri batteries outside Missouri, but each time I've tried to purchase 6lb-er batteries from Kansas, the don't get built. Is maybe something amiss?

User avatar
soloswolf
General of the Army
Posts: 683
Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:56 pm
Location: Ithaca, NY

Tue Apr 03, 2012 11:44 pm

In the Units DB file, there are two fields which cover this: 'Area' and 'AltArea'. If you don't want to deal with running it through the splitter, etc., you can just adjust the unit files individually by opening them as a text file and changing the appropriate values. (For the battery in question, which is unit 261, the default area is '$KS', and there is no alt listed in the standard unit DB. If you change it manually, you will have to add the line 'AltArea = $XX' below the 'Area = $KS', with XX being the capitalized abbreviation of the state you'd like it to build in. You can also replace it with a grand region, too.)

Assuming you have not changed any other facet of the unit file, it should look like this:

UID = 261
NationTag = USA
Name = $Artillery 6 lb (KS)
Alias = uni_USA_Art1KS
ForcePool = 3
ShortName = Artillery 6 lb
Text = $uni_txt_USA_Artillery
Kind = $Land
Color = $colUSARegular
ModelType0 = $mdl_USA_Art1|1
FamilyType0 = $famLightArty|1
CmdCost = 1
Pillage = 0
RaiseRule = $recWSU
Area = $KS
CustomNames = 1st Bty., KS Lt.Art.|2nd Bty., KS Lt.Art.|3rd Bty., KS Lt.'Hopkin's'|Armstrong's Art.|Opdyke's Art.|Stover's Art.|Zisch's Art.

And your modded file will look like this:

UID = 261
NationTag = USA
Name = $Artillery 6 lb (KS)
Alias = uni_USA_Art1KS
ForcePool = 3
ShortName = Artillery 6 lb
Text = $uni_txt_USA_Artillery
Kind = $Land
Color = $colUSARegular
ModelType0 = $mdl_USA_Art1|1
FamilyType0 = $famLightArty|1
CmdCost = 1
Pillage = 0
RaiseRule = $recWSU
Area = $KS
AltArea = $IA
CustomNames = 1st Bty., KS Lt.Art.|2nd Bty., KS Lt.Art.|3rd Bty., KS Lt.'Hopkin's'|Armstrong's Art.|Opdyke's Art.|Stover's Art.|Zisch's Art.

Finally, you will need to delete your unit cache file, and then restart the game for the changes to take place in game. (If any of the modding tips are things you know, my apologies, I just wanted you to have it all answered in one post. Enjoy! Also, modding is super fun! :D )
My name is Aaron.

Knight of New Hampshire

User avatar
soloswolf
General of the Army
Posts: 683
Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:56 pm
Location: Ithaca, NY

Tue Apr 03, 2012 11:45 pm

Captain_Orso wrote:I've been able to build a number of Missouri batteries outside Missouri, but each time I've tried to purchase 6lb-er batteries from Kansas, the don't get built. Is maybe something amiss?


BTW, the MO Bty. 'AltArea' is '$Old_Northwest'.
My name is Aaron.



Knight of New Hampshire

User avatar
Captain_Orso
Posts: 5766
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 5:02 pm
Location: Stuttgart, Germany

Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:53 am

Many thanks Aaron, I missed that field in the Missouri units. I'm not moding this (at the moment), just reporting "possible" bugs.

--

*cough*cough*ahem* LODI!!!!

User avatar
lodilefty
Posts: 7613
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2007 3:27 pm
Location: Finger Lakes, NY GMT -5 US Eastern

Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:34 pm

Not bugs at all.

I fear imbalance coming on. Too many Alt_Areas deprives the opponent of the strategy to take away forcePool by conquest.
....and makes Industrialization moot...

We only added Alt_Areas to artillery units from states that either don't start with and WSU generated [for Artillery].

We added Alt_Areas to MO as an exception, as the MC of St.Louis and MO in general is probematic, and CSA has difficulty building arty for the West.

...and that could change with the correction of the bug in the Occupier abilities [use Lyons in St. Louis, then put Butler in St. Louis, and you'll soon be in MC as the union.]

I think any further changes must be as a mod...
Always ask yourself: "Am I part of the Solution?" If you aren't, then you are part of the Problem!
[CENTER][/CENTER]
[CENTER]Visit AGEWiki - your increasingly comprehensive source for information about AGE games[/CENTER]

[CENTER]Rules for new members[/CENTER]
[CENTER]Forum Rules[/CENTER]

[CENTER]Help desk: support@slitherine.co.uk[/CENTER]

User avatar
Captain_Orso
Posts: 5766
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 5:02 pm
Location: Stuttgart, Germany

Wed Apr 04, 2012 6:10 pm

The concept is fine, but the ACW Updates states, "All units that require WSU to build have an Alternate Area defined that allows unit build outside the Home Area if no controlled Region that generates WSU is in the Home Area". I've looked into all the Artillery Units belonging to MS, TX, AR, MO and KS. All have the RaiseRule recWSU, but the KS 6lb-er is the only unit without an AltArea; all others have it.

This seems to defeat the concept, plus contradict the ACW Updates description and leave KS as the odd-man-out. The concept does however add the additional cost and time of transporting batteries built outside of their home states.

I would suggest either an update to the ACW Updates.rtf :wacko: or an update to the unit as a quick-fix at some future date.

User avatar
lodilefty
Posts: 7613
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2007 3:27 pm
Location: Finger Lakes, NY GMT -5 US Eastern

Thu Apr 05, 2012 12:05 pm

Point well taken!

KS 6lbr added, change log clarified

Thank you!
Always ask yourself: "Am I part of the Solution?" If you aren't, then you are part of the Problem!
[CENTER][/CENTER]

[CENTER]Visit AGEWiki - your increasingly comprehensive source for information about AGE games[/CENTER]



[CENTER]Rules for new members[/CENTER]

[CENTER]Forum Rules[/CENTER]



[CENTER]Help desk: support@slitherine.co.uk[/CENTER]

Return to “Help to improve AACW!”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests