OoB v9.2.5 - Fixes & Tweaks

[Horst]

I forgot to mention that you can even attack after switching or moving & switching now, what is a significant advantage for these switch-units, in particular for AA-units should they be in AT-mode and enemy aircraft suddenly attack.
The problem is still though that the AI isn't really making use of this yet.
Keep in mind there is still this efficiency artillery shelling until 7 before switching, what I once mentioned here testing:
https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewto ... 6&start=20
AITasks seem to be intertwined with each other, so it's difficult to get an overview.

I'm glad I don't need to update these tooltips and basically corrected it to the wording.
tooltip_switch_at_disabled_1 = Unit cannot switch to direct-fire setup after attacking.
tooltip_switch_art_disabled_1 = Unit cannot switch to indirect-fire setup after attacking.
tooltip_switch_aa_disabled_1 = Unit cannot switch to anti-air setup after attacking.

Also forgot to test the banzai mode, but looks like switching was always possible there.

Enjoy!

PS: I already pity the poor AI for this extra attack, as I'm still not able to teach it something useful.
That's the problem with action points that are used for all kind of actions like switching. If you attack, they are set to 0, so you aren't able to switch and do other actions anymore.
I think I'm going to revert this tomorrow to be able to move and switch but not attack anymore, so even if you can switch infinitely then the chance to attack is gone.
I want to keep it fair until someone gets smart of this AI tweaking.
Everyone can take a look at the code, change it and test settings for oneself.

[GabeKnight]

Downloaded, installed and tested it.
(OoB Steam version).

Enjoy!

As far as I've observed during a quick OoB session, all seems to work as advertised. Great stuff, Thanks, Horst!

I'll defintely keep your "mod" installed and keep observing and reporting...

[Horst]

January 13th, 2023, v8
Reverted the last change until the AI is taught to make use of it

No idea how to make units freely switch after moving either yet without the possibility to still being able to attack.
I leave this alone now before going nuts, but at least it's easy to redo.
Maybe someone else has an idea in the AbilitySwitch and SwitchUnitTypeAction classes.

Originally how it is in vanilla and reverted now, you can still switch once after moving, as long as no switching has been done before moving yet. The staticFire trait is always preventing any action after moving (action points set to 0).
Before moving, you can switch infinitely, but can't attack anymore the moment you have switched once.

The AI can at least switch after moving, although you won't see this while a Move-to-Hex task is going on.
https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewto ... 6&start=20

Now we know why they hired an extra dude for AI coding...

[bru888]

Well, I see why you made the extra language file; for this and one tooltip:

Screenshot 3.jpg (25.62 KiB) Viewed 1274 times

Now, as I mused at length in this thread, this means the basic game has been tweaked by directly overwriting that .dll file. Which is cool. What this means is that the vanilla version of OOB, and anybody's and everybody's custom mod, will all be positively affected because none of these mods could alter what that .dll file was/should have been doing.

If so, I am very happy. This game is now mine and I will continue to improve it with the limited knowledge that I have but including improvements to the official DLC. (Which I will not publish; I only did the Allies Victorious / Bulge thing publically because that was a bug, an error of omission.)

[GabeKnight]

I like the new damage model of the mines. No more infantry "removing" them.
(But this could make the first RedStar DLC mission very hard; even impossible maybe. I have to check...)

I'm not (absolutely) sure if it's because of your "mod", but for some reason the heavy inf. units "claim" territory if their mortar ability has been used. I don't think I've seen this happen with vanilla OoB.

In vanilla OoB, you can observe the same behaviour with "2-step" light tanks if you don't use the second movement point.

[Horst]

I don't see any territory claiming around heavy infantry if you move into enemy territory and switch to mortar and use them, neither with my gameplay mod or vanilla stats.
Normally, you shouldn't be able to move in mortar-mode either.

I still had no trouble yet with the mines, as I tend to move around them now if I don't have a cleaner at hand.
If you gather too many RPs during a campaign due lack of upgrades, it's still feasible to bash through with infantry.
It can still becoming complicated for the AI if the player creates mine fields at choke points. Can't remember any example at moment.
I especially like the ambush damage now if you are in such a hurry with your 4-5 star heavy vehicles. That hurts the RP account!


These extra language files aren't used by vanilla yet. These are usually created for a large update like a DLC with new content.
I highly recommend to uninstall this "mod" before official patching, but these patches usually overwrite anything anyway.
I'm no fan of this clutter and need overview, so I have moved all tooltips, spec, terrain, skin, unit and commander descriptions and settings into the first english.txt file.

[GabeKnight]

I'm not (absolutely) sure if it's because of your "mod", but for some reason the heavy inf. units "claim" territory if their mortar ability has been used. I don't think I've seen this happen with vanilla OoB.

In vanilla OoB, you can observe the same behaviour with "2-step" light tanks if you don't use the second movement point.

Good news, has nothing to do with your tweaks-mod. But it's there, I could reproduce it with the scen editor.
I don't think I'll bother posting about this in tech support, though. Super minor stuff.


PS: You're right about the "Lake Khasan" scen. I was overcautious. There aren't that many mines there.

[Horst]

January 17th, 2023, v9
Reverted all changes related to switch-abilities except the Up-Armour one and the AI behaviors

It's quite hopeless with the aircraft switch abilities, as you could repair, switch and take-off right away again.
You normally only saw this exploit in vanilla with naval tac bombers.
Now it's back to good old vanilla with all its merits and flaws.
I don't want to fiddle with the redeployment either anymore, as you can normally repair and redeploy in the same turn. At least you usually have to spend a turn or two to move units back to such redeployment hexes as well.

[bru888]

The question [reproduced verbatim from my PM at your suggestion] is this:

9.1.4: Combat Event blocks goal count

That never got addressed, as you may be aware. Were or are you able to find this bug and fix it in one of those Managed .dll files?

If I could get that fixed, my game would be complete. I care not for their forthcoming update which will not be comprehensive and may break something else, as often occurs.

Remember, please be sure. I don't want us to break my game, either!

Thanks.

[Horst]

Bru, the solution is possible within the TC_UnitCount class, but if you take a look at all of this yourself then you realize like me that it's best not to touch anything there.

TC_UnitCount.jpg (375.12 KiB) Viewed 973 times

Like with so many other issues, I wouldn't even know where and what to start changing something.
It's possible somewhat easier if you have the source-code with coder's remark-texts available between lines that are usually removed during the compiling process.
What you see in dnspy is basically the reverse-engineering process: superbly smartly done by ingenious people - not like us here.
Sigh, tell me to change some constants, like the port-supply, but not something like this or the confounded transport-spawn bug.

[bru888]

That's fine; thanks for taking a look. I have a standing workaround for that trigger condition: use "Any Event".

[terminator]

Is it possible to reactivate this old button (much more aesthetic) to start the briefing as it was the case in the past ?

Start Briefing.jpg (47.92 KiB) Viewed 932 times

[Horst]

I see this "Start Briefing" tooltip with the active button possibility on the looped animation in a very old game version, but the whole UI code was revamped someday, so it's not really possible to copy over some old data (if you actually know which one what is another story).
This looks too complicated for me.
I'd already be glad to fix that exit-button bug where the editor windows are lacking focus.

Let's see what the next patch will bring.
Updating OFT will most likely take one or two weeks then, considering it's still possible at all after my tampering in their holy code.
While I don't want to miss my tweaks, I'd gladly pass on the fixes-part to someone with a bigger brain.
After the patch, I'm possibly going to add an "unresolved issues" section in the first post, should someone else smarter be interested and capable one day to additional fix a thing or two.

[StuccoFresco]

I still don't get why that screen exists to begin with. It's a pointless "one more click" that does nothing: the game is paused during briefing anyway, you gain nothing, you just have to waste a click.

[bru888]

After the patch, I'm possibly going to add an "unresolved issues" section in the first post, should someone else smarter be interested and capable one day to additional fix a thing or two.

An interesting situation, if I assess it correctly.

You want the patch, which will overwrite the changes that you have made to your beloved Assembly-CSharp.dll file. This means you will need to: 1) go through the file, looking for your changes, to see which of them were "adopted" by officials if any, and 2) correct again the ones that were ignored. You are willing to do this for each patch?

A smaller job, though, than what I would go through now in the same position, for I have made numerous .csv and .txt edits for things that were mentioned and forgotten in Bugs Submissions and I have just started on troubleshooting and improving their DLC. No way do I want to go through this again, which is why I am off-grid when it comes to patches now.

Still, I admire your fortitude if that is your plan.

[Horst]

I've made enough notes about my code changes, so no problem.
There are tools to compare files, so it's even easier for game files as long as you make backups of each version.
If you want to compare an old csv/txt with a new one, you can use this: https://text-compare.com
It should still be enough for the vanilla content as this web-tool has a text-length limit like so many similar ones.
Changes to scenarios are still a problem though as it's hard to compare without taking a lot of screenshots of the triggers if you know there is a change.
I'm waiting for the next patch then I'm going to modify and play the last DLC.

[bru888]

Have you noticed anything funky with the Check Hex Supply trigger condition and is it something that you can [quickly, easily] fix? I tried to use it tonight — one of the rare times that I have — and it failed whenever I set the Amount to Value. By that, I mean the scenario would not advance a turn. When I flipped Amount back to Percentage, it was fine. To tell you the truth, I don't know how this thing works in general but I sure can detect a program bug when I see it and reliably reproduce it.

Screenshot 1.jpg (547.6 KiB) Viewed 845 times

[terminator]

I'm waiting for the next patch then I'm going to modify and play the last DLC.

I think the next patch will only come out after the OoB Open Tournament - February 2023.

[GabeKnight]

Is it possible to reactivate this old button (much more aesthetic) to start the briefing as it was the case in the past ?

I know it's suuuuuuuper silly but I was thinking the same thing and have to agree with Mr. T ... I'd like to be able to click on the image again, too ...

Hey Horst,

I'm still playing with your "v7", because I like that move&switch&attack option. Yeah, the switch button bug with the planes is evident, but you don't have to exploit it if you don't want to.

Some observations with your "fix/mod":
- cruisers/BBs have a spare action point for the AA ability if an enemy air unit is in range; similar to recon vehicles and their (unused) second movement step
- unfair: the naval AA-fire (after movement) is disabled for the player, but not the AI?
- the sub battery timer is too high after recharge sometimes; should be 3 but sets to 5 in some circumstances


Your damage model for the mines is really good. Kudos! Could even be a bit more IMO. Works great, especially with ships (that can not repair themselves in the field). Finally those mines and the 20RPs are worth it.

As you know, the mines are only useful for damaging enemy units once, and only if the "ambush" is successful. Other than blocking a path, the 20RPs to lay a mine are usually totally wasted. At least damage-wise.

I really don't want to start another tech-support thread to vote for an increase in damage for the mines in the stock game, but overall, I'm all FOR it...

[bru888]

I'm waiting for the next patch then I'm going to modify and play the last DLC.

I think the next patch will only come out after the OoB Open Tournament - February 2023.

That's why I asked what I did above. I am trying to cram as much as Horst is willing and able to do into this fixes and tweaks mod before the patch levels (unlevels?) the playing field again. At that point, official OOB and I part ways.