Problem: Dominions II stats are too granular (not adjustable to a fine enough degree to make every unit, weapon, and armor distinct).
Solution: Below.
I suggest you read the preface first, unless you are just scanning rapidly for brilliant ideas (like I imagine developers do - in which case, skip to the bottom).
~ Preface ~
Last night, after I thought (incorrectly) that I had finished and correctly posted files to be used in the Rebalance test mod, I went to bed. And I had this
Brilliant Idea. So brilliant, I almost got up to write it down, but I thought "It's so brilliant, how could I forget it?" And I went to sleep and forgot it. Then, I just remembered it now, 5 hours after waking up... and here it is!
When examining weapon stats and unit stats, and trying to mod them... I always run into the same problems. How do you make a longspear slightly worse than a spear, without making it worthless? How do you make Full Scale Mail less bad without making it identical to a Chain Mail Hauberk? How do you give units Leather or Chain cowls or Bronze helmets that are beneficial, but not quite as good as a steel helmet? How do you give a unit stats slightly above normal (hp 10, mor 10, att 10, def 10)... but below elite (hp 11, mor 11, att 11, def 11)? How do you differentiate a Ring Mail Hauberk (7, -1, 1, 6 res) from a Scale Mail Cuirass (7, -1, 1, 7 res) without making one worse than the other in any possible situation? How do you make Drain 1 (with its .5 MR bonus) useful in any way?
Answer:
YOU CAN'T! Dominions' combat mechanics, based on 2d6 (open ended) and low integers, do not allow such things.
The solution: If you want those things to be possible...
Solution:
Modify the 2d6* (shorthand for "two 6-sided, open-ended dice") to 2d6.0* (shorthand for "two 6-sided, open-ended dice plus a 10-sided, decimal die").
Implementation:
Dominions II dice rolls are usually competing sets of 2d6*, which generate an integer in the range (98% of the time) of about -14 to +15 (see the
Dice Roll Chart for details). To get accuracy in the .1 region (allowing rolls of 6.1 or 14.7) is quite simple. Change (2d6*) to ((2d6*) + (1d10)/10). As long as each side gets an additional ((1d10)/10) on all rolls,
nothing in Dominions II will change much! Also, make unit stats (and hit points, during combat) floating point numbers with 1 decimal place instead of integers.
With rolls providing sub-integer precision, equipment can be modded much more precisely. A ringmail cuirass can give -.3 defense and +.5 encumbrance, instead of the (unrealistic) 0 defense penalty and 0 encumbrance that it currently gives. A helmet can give +.1 encumbrance and -.3 precision. Longspears can give -.2 attack and -.2 defense, becoming slightly worse - but not vastly worse worse - than normal spears. Ulm could get +1.5 MR from drain 3, instead of the current 1 MR. Elites could get 11 strength / 11 attack, heavy infantry could get 10.7 strength / 10 attack, medium infantry 10.4 strength / 10.2 attack, light infantry 10 strength / 10.5 attack, trained militia 9.5 strength / 9 attack, and peasants 9 strength / 8 attack... and it would all matter!
Maybe nobody else cares about this degree of arcane number-crunching complexity. But
I DO! And I hope there are others out there who feel the same way
Re: Swamp Castle
), etc.
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