BOA Terrain Modifier Mod

[Jagger]

I have created a Birth of America mod to slow the pace of operations in the big BOA campaigns.

The mod adjusts OFFFire/DEFfire and TQ for units by terrain and ground conditions. The mod slows the pace of operations by increasing the value of defense.

There are four major changes.

First is a fairly major modification in the OFFFire/DEFFire of terrain modifiers.
The Mod makes Defensive fire stronger than offensive fire in all terrain-sometime substantially stronger. The range of best defensive terrain, from weakest to strongest, is now clear, woods, forest, cities, wilderness/mountains, swamps, forts. As usual, major and minor rivers have a significant impact when an attacker crosses a river.

Second, I have increased the impact of ground conditions on both offense and defense. It is best to launch an attack in clear or frozen weather. It is substantially more difficult to launch an effective attack in mud or snow conditions. Blizzards negatively impact both offense and defense. Both OFFFire/DEFFire and TQ's were adjusted to reflect the impact of ground conditions when attacking or defending.

Third, militia now consistently defends better than it attacks. There is a gradual merger of offensive/defensive abilities between light infantry militia and regulars as terrain becomes more and more rough. Using militia to face regulars offensively or defensively in clear terrain is still suicide. However as terrain approaches wilderness, mountains, forests conditions, etc, the militia can perform very well offensively or defensively against regulars.

Fourth, forts are substantially stronger than in the past. You can assault and take an undermanned fort without too much trouble or if you have overwhelming odds. However if the fort has a substantial garrison, expect very heavy casualties. It is usually best to seige a fort if it has a strong garrison. Also militia performs very well in forts or cities.

A quick comment on cities. Cities are still good defensive terrain but sometimes the terrain outside of the city can provide a better defensive option. An ideal defensive situation would have very rough terrain in conjunction with rivers.

I am happy with the results playing against the AI. I am also doing additional PBEM testing at this time but it is ready for people to try on their own. I still expect to do some additional tweaking but the mod is basically done unless some new ideas develop.

This mod produces a slower paced game operationally as the defense is more powerful than previously. Terrain and ground conditions need to be considered carefully before launching attacks and strategic offensives. Whether defending or attacking, always look for the right terrain and proper weather conditions for the troops in your armies. And finally, those British blitzs of 1775-1776 are much more difficult to perform when not in open terrain and clear weather. A good American player can make taking Albany a real challenge now.

To install and use the mod:

1. Find your terrain folder within the Gamedata folder of your BOA Folder.
2. Use copy/paste to make a copy of your original terrain folder.
3. Upload the zip file at the bottom of this post.
4. Unzip the file into your original terrain folder
5. Choose overwrite all files. (This mod will overwrite your clear, woods, forest, cities, mountains, wilderness, swamps and fort files.)
6. Restart BOA to ensure your games are using the proper data.

If you wish to play some games using the original terrain modifiers and some with the mod, you will need to have two terrain folders. The folder currently being used in a game needs to be named "terrains". The one not being used, I rename as either terrainsOriginal or terrainsMod dependent on which set of terrain data is contained. Then I simply rename the folders when I need to switch between game.

Any feedback is appreciated. Any solid suggestions on further changes, I will incorporate into this mod.

Enjoy!

Latest Terrain Mod is TerrainMod13July,2007

[PBBoeye]

Jagger, this mod sounds yummy. I am excited to try it out and recognize the value of what you've done. Great.

One thing that is rolling around my head, though, is the value of city terrain as a defense. It obviously has to have some, but since tactics then did not support city warfare of any type (that I know of), it seems to me that the progression should be: clear, city, woods, forest, etc.... In that city should be better than clear, but I believe the forces which used wooded areas weren't up to the concept of city warfare yet.

I could be wrong on all that, and yet city defense must have some value, simply because it exists as a terrain type. I just don't relish the concept of any forces digging into cities (towns) for defense.

[Jagger]

Jagger, this mod sounds yummy. I am excited to try it out and recognize the value of what you've done. Great.

One thing that is rolling around my head, though, is the value of city terrain as a defense. It obviously has to have some, but since tactics then did not support city warfare of any type (that I know of), it seems to me that the progression should be: clear, city, woods, forest, etc.... In that city should be better than clear, but I believe the forces which used wooded areas weren't up to the concept of city warfare yet.

I could be wrong on all that, and yet city defense must have some value, simply because it exists as a terrain type. I just don't relish the concept of any forces digging into cities (towns) for defense.

Hi PB,

My line of thought is that cities allow for a concentrated defense with excellent defensive command and control. They can be easily fortified. The avenues of attack are typically channeled along roads and thus easily defended. Fields of fire should be good around a settled city with fields, etc leaving the attackers exposed while defenders are covered. IMO, those advantages make cities superior to open/woods for militia/regular troops.

I also see forests as lesser defensive terrain in comparison primarily because attacks are not channeled. Flanks are open, fields of fire and observation is short. Command and control is less in forests but, IMO, not enough to give Forest the advantage over cities.

It is all subjective, but for the above reasons, I decided to go with cities as defensively superior to clear/woods/forest. I placed wilderness/ mountains/ swamps as superior defensive terrain as each as unique characteristics which, IMO, make them superb defensive terrain beyond cities.

Although in terms of how I play BOA, cities really don't play a major defensive role for me as I am rarely willing to risk the loss of units trapped in a city. I would much rather lose the city and save the unit for the later counterattack to recover the city.

Hope you enjoy the mod! Also see the newest update with strengthened forts.

[Jagger]

Adjusted Fort terrain by modifying terrain contingencies and artillery values.

Within this mod, a complete garrison for a fort is set as 2 regiments and 2 support units. If under assault, only 2 regiments and 2 support units can defend at any one time regardless of the number of units within the fort. Artillery and supply are both considered support units.

The beseiging army is also limited to 2 regiments and 2 support units attacking at any one time regardless of total number of units in the army.

Like any other battle, units will rotate in and out of combat as casualties occur and regiments fail their morale. So any number of units may attack or defend a fort but only 2/2 regiments/support units will fight at any one time.

This modification of fort values will prevent a superstack army from attacking and capturing a fort with extremely low casualties.

If you decide to assault a fort, rather than seige, having artillery will allow for a bit easier attack than an attack without artillery.

[Jagger]

Here is a guide providing some background on the interaction of the BOA combat model with terrain/ground conditions as well as expected performance of different troop types using my current terrain mod.

Interaction of Troop Categories and Terrain/Weather:

Troops have a variety of values which determine their combat performance. The primary values are OFFFire/DEFFire, Troop Quality (TQ), Initiative and Assault values. (These numbers are available in the models database.)

Offensive/Defensive (OFFFire/DEFFire) fire factors determine if the unit achieves a hit during the ranged combat phases. Troop quality is used as a morale check when a unit receives a hit and is used to determine if a unit will launch a close range charge/assault. Initiative determines which troops fire first. Assault is the value used to determine hits during a close range charge.

Battlefield terrain and weather apply a percentage modifier directly to OFFFire/DEFFire. Terrain and weather can provide protection factors which adjust the chance of a unit being hit by adding or subtracting discrete numbers from the inherent base OFFFire/DEFFire troop values. TQ values are altered by adding or subtracting from the units base TQ value. Altering TQ indirectly impacts Assaults as a TQ check must be passed before an assault can occur. Thus a higher TQ value increases the number of assaults that occur and a lower TQ decreases assaults. (Assaults are typically a significant strength of line/regular troops over militia.)

Terrain and ground conditions do not affect initiative. (One major combat advantage of British line troops is their high initiative. Invariable, their initiative is higher than Americans and will fire first against American troops. Regardless of terrain or weather, the Brits retain this significant advantage and the terrain mod has no impact on initiative.)

I do not believe assault values are directly affected by terrain and ground conditions except indirectly through troop quality (TQ) values. (Someone please correct me if I am wrong about terrain/ground conditions not impacting assault values directly.)

Troop Categories:

There are five primary categories of ground fighting troops within BOA: Regulars, Irregulars, Militia, Cavalry and Artillery.

Regulars- Regular regiments include grenadiers, highlanders, fusiliers, marines, German grenadiers, Tory provincials and all line regiments regardless of nationality as well as American trained line.

Irregulars-Irregular units include light infantry, rangers, partisans, mountaineers and Indians. (For quite some time, I did not realize Light Infantry perform as irregulars rather than line. This characteristic makes light infantry much more valuable in difficult terrain than I realized in the past.)

Militia-all militia regiments. As militia are trained to "regular" status, the regiment will gain regular elements and function as a mixture of militia and regulars until the entire regiment is trained.

Cavalry Regiments. All cavalry in BOA are dragoons. Dragoons are trained to fight both as traditional cavalry as well as dismounted infantry. (Note that Tarletons Legion is not cavalry but irregulars. Always ensure that cavalry is actually cavalry and not irregulars as they each perform best in different terrain. Cavalry strength is in open/wooded terrain and irregulars strength is in forests, swamps, mountains, etc..)

Artillery- Artillery comes in a variety of types including field artillery, siege artillery and non-mobile coastal defense batteries.

Note that many line regiments have sub-elements that are different form "regular" line companies. Typically those different sub-elements are grenadiers, light infantry or cavalry. Those regiments will perform better than pure regiments when operating in terrain suited to the special expertise of their unique sub-elements. Example: Many German regiments have one or two sub-elements which are light infantry. As light infantry are "irregulars", those regiments can function better in "irregular" terrain and less well in territory more suited for pure "regular" line infantry. Militia regiments will also have this hybrid performance as they transition through training from pure militia to pure line troops. Line regiments with grenadier sub-elements are extra heavy and are stronger than pure line regiments in typical "regular" terrain.

Regulars

Regulars always perform better in defense than offense regardless of terrain or ground conditions.

Regulars always attack best in firm ground conditions of clear or frozen ground. Within the mod, Regulars will have a large advantage when attacking militia in open or wooded terrain on clear/frozen ground. Militia will have a very slight defensive advantage when defending in forest and greater defensive advantages in wilderness, swamps, mountains and forests. Ground conditions of mud/snow decrease the offensive capabilities of regulars which produces a stronger defense regardless of whether the opponents are regulars or militia. Frozen ground conditions are slightly worse than clear terrain for offense but better than mud/snow conditions.

Regulars always have an advantage in defense against Militia. However the defensive advantage of regulars over militia is least in mountains, swamps and wilderness. Regulars defend best in mud/snow conditions. Major and minor rivers both significantly improve defense if not frozen. Dug-in entrenchments are also a valuable defensive advantage for regulars.


Militia

Militia always performs significantly better in defense than offense. Basically militia is a very poor attacking force. Militia can be respectable in defense in the right terrain/ground conditions.

If you must attack with militia, forest, wilderness and swamps are the best terrain for attacking militia. Militia are even worse when it comes to attacking cities or forts. Mud/snow reduces the attacking capability of militia as well but less than it impacts regulars. So snow/mud slightly reduces the offensive advantages of regulars vs militias. When militia fight militia, the defending militia will always have a substantial advantage. The best situation for using militia to attack defending militia is in open or wooded terrain. If you are going to attack with militia, ensure you have an advantage in number and good leaders with special abilities.

Militia cannot stand before regulars in open terrain. They will put up only a slightly better defense in wooded terrain. On defense, militia can hold their own to regulars in forests. Militia is a very respectable defensive force against regulars in wilderness, swamps and mountains. Mud/Snow provides significant defensive advantages to militia to the point where regulars need numbers to beat defending militia. Major and minor rivers both significantly improve defense if not frozen. Dug-in entrenchments are also a valuable defensive advantage for militia. Militia is primarily a defensive force.


Part II

I will cover irregulars, cavalry, artillery, forts, cities and rivers in later posts.

Also there will definitely be another update to the terrian mod. I created a spreadsheet which gave me a good overview of totality of the terrain impact. I see some tweaking necessary in the overall trends in certain terrains. Hopefully have it done by the end of the week.

[Jagger]

Irregulars

Unlike regulars and militia, irregulars are strongest on attack. Indian bands, partisans, rangers, etc. are most effective with the surprise attack in forests, wilderness, mountains or swamps. Their superb attack capability of most irregulars is offset by a low assault capability-except for rangers and light infantry. In addition, they are also fairly ineffective in attacks against forts and cities regardless of terrain.

If you anticipate a potential massed attack by irregulars (Massed Indian tribes is an example) in rough terrain, your best defense is within a city or fort. It is ideal to attack irregulars first and hopefully catch them outside of ambush status. A second major weakness is the small number of elements composing all irregular units except light infantry. Most irregular units cannot accept casualties. One hard fight and they must withdraw to recover.

Irregulars perform best in rough terrain and better on offense than defense. Major weaknesses are attacking forts/cities, low assault values and the small number of elements within a unit.

Dragoons

Dragoons are trained to fight on foot as well as mounted. Many felt dragoons did not perform either function as well as pure cavalry or pure infantry.

Dragoons have strong offense and defense in both open and wooded terrain representing their mounted capabilities. In all other terrain, I am assuming dragoons are fighting on foot. They will fight slightly worse than regular line in all dismounted situations.

Ideally, dragoons are most effective in open and wooded terrain for both offense and defense.

Updated terrain mod with tweaks dated 13 July 2007. Upload from first post at top of thread.