Rifles.csv

[Hancock the Superb]

I have a problem. I am determined to mod the game so troops don't lose 200 casualties in 5 minutes. In fact, I've made it so troops in the open fighting troops in the woods will each lose about 50 casualties in 30 minutes at 350yards (yes, I increased the maximum range of all the rifles).

The problem is, the rate stays the same when I move the regiments to fifty-yards apart. This doesn't make any sense. At fifty-yards, regiments will lose 200 in 10 to 15 minutes. So I check the rifles file, and it says the most of the "best" firing range is around 50 yards. If "best" means the rifles are most accurate, shouldn't the men be scoring a lot more hits at this range?

My question is: how can we mod the firing "curve" so regiments are more deadly at these close ranges? I'm positive NSD has made it so there is slightly higher accuracy at these ranges, but I don't believe it is enough. We need to heighten the curve, which I'm assuming takes the form: y = a * root(x) * e^(-x) where y is accuracy and x is yardage. How can we mod a bigger "a". If we can't mod this accuracy curve, can NSD open it up to us?

Thanks

[RebBugler]

Pretty sure this can be modded for SP, just not MP. However, I haven't experimented with this file much, and not at all with the accuracy numbers.

It will probably take Jim or ADukes to help you out here, or someone on the forum that has looked into this...maybe MTG or Garnier.

[Jack ONeill]

H,

This can be done. In the Rifles.csv there are distances listed showing the percentages of hits scored @ various ranges. Just raise oe lower those as you wish.
Example - my rifle ranges are extended to 190 yards, just inside cannister range. Howver, the percentage of hits @ that range has been seriously reduced. Those numbers are just to the left of the maximum range number you have changed. Try that and see.

Jack B)

[Marching Thru Georgia]

Actually, rifles.csv is one of the allowed files for MP modding. That's why keeping munitions.csv,(artillery equivalent of rifles), forbidden is such a mystery. Changing the distances for the various ranges does have an effect, but it is minor after all the modifiers are applied. This is also true of the artillery ranges. The best way that I have found to limit total casualties, is to decrease the rate of fire to historic levels, (1 round every minute of two), and to increase the morale penalty for every casualty, (battledefs.ini). That way, the units will fight for about the same amount of time, but take fewer casualties. The hits and couriers group has been experimenting with this for the past month or so, and it leads to fewer casualties overall. Units will break far sooner, reform, and go into line again. They may repeat this 3 or 4 times, depending on their experience. Also the outlier results still show up on occasion, namely, a unit will break after only a few casualties, or stand to nearly the last man. Most of us find this to be very realistic. But it requires a different battle management strategy than the stock game.

[Hancock the Superb]

Maybe I'm not explaining the problem clearly enough: The range at which the units are apart has little affect on their casualties. I stand my units 400 yards apart and they take a few casualties. I move them to 40 yards apart and they don't take all that many more casualties. I see in the rifles.csv file ranges for minimum, best, etc. How can I increase the deadliness at the "best" range while decreasing the deadliness at the "Maximum" range. I believe NSD has coded some variance along the lines of what I am talking about, but I would like to increase that exaggerate that variance. Is it possible to do this right now, or can it be opened to us?

[Jack ONeill]

H,

Understand now. Let me dig around in some of my modded stuff and see if what I told you was correct or just hogwash.

Jack B)

[gunship24]

Hmmmm, im not sure theres a way to do that, certainly i havent found one in my napoleonic mod development.

Im going to guess here so i could be wrong:

What you want is a way to adjust the percentage of hit at a certain range. In rifles.csv what you effectely have (i think) are five hardcoded variables (min, best, normal, long and maximum) of hit chance and then you can edit the distances that theres occur at. This hardcoded value is probably then modified based on unit experience etc as listed in unitattributes.csv.

What you really want is a file that allows you to adjust the hit chance for the five variables yourself which i dont think exists.

[Hancock the Superb]

Hmmmm, im not sure theres a way to do that, certainly i havent found one in my napoleonic mod development.

Im going to guess here so i could be wrong:

What you want is a way to adjust the percentage of hit at a certain range. In rifles.csv what you effectely have (i think) are five hardcoded variables (min, best, normal, long and maximum) of hit chance and then you can edit the distances that theres occur at. This hardcoded value is probably then modified based on unit experience etc as listed in unitattributes.csv.

What you really want is a file that allows you to adjust the hit chance for the five variables yourself which i dont think exists.

Exactly. If my hunch is correct, there is a curve fitted to those five values which gives the accuracy at different yards. I'm wondering if that can be opened to us, because just changing the yardage does not change the exaggeration of the curve.

[AtheistDane]

Any progress on finding out how to increase accuracy?

[Olszowy]

We fight at multiple corps level and enjoy longer battles so we increased ranges to 330 yards as well. Losses skyrocketed as expected due to the longer range so after a couple tests we put in a -105 "to hit" modifier across the board to reduce losses. We did not like huge losses at long range and we also wanted to reduce loss rate at closer range. We thought about reducing RoF, but wanted supply to be a factor so we left RoF as is.
Much like the OP and others have stated losses are inflicted slower, longer fights ensue, units tend to rally more often, and units are not destroyed in mere moments. Mods for terrain, quality, flanking, fatigue, etc have a greater effect in off-setting the -105 to hit. I was really happy to see artillery batteries at 300 yards, well behind the infantry line, taking slow but sure damage from long range rifle fire peppering them. Not huge losses or immediate, one here, one there, two here two there, but over time it adds up.

We also reduced ammo supply on wagons forcing corps commanders to worry about supply. You want to sit at 300 yards and blaze away not hitting much of anything, go for it, just have a plan to resupply. Saw a whole brigade last night break and run and reform 200-300 yards to the rear because they were out of ammo.
Before we did this we would see entire corps destroyed in 30 minutes with 32 men or none left at game end. Now we are seeing corps with more viable strengths and much more interesting manuever fights than blood baths although if you get flanked it still happens. I can actually march to someone's rescue and find a a battered and beat up corps heroically standing its ground instead of just the corps commander and a courier left.
However, in all that we never fond a way to specifically change damage rates at different ranges other than changing RoF and "to hit".