Veterancy Experiements

[Kingpin]

I've made a few modifications to Emperor which I want to share here regarding Veterancy. I think this is a promising secondary balance issue which could completely change how the game is played.

First, you can have up to seven different levels of experience, from fresh out of the factory/barracks, etc, to Level 6. Each of those levels can change different values, such as added health, speed, armor, and most promising new turrets. Other factors include special ground areas, so vehicles can move over infantry rock, self-heal ability, and slow-down-with-damage rates among many others.

If you attach a different turret, you can select a different bullet also, and so you can develop special abilities over time as the unit advances. Therefore you can establish a new turret firing faster, or a new turret firing a heavier round slower, faster missiles, wider or narrower arc, ballistic capability, blast area, damage to friendlies, different muzzle blasts, bullet speeds, etc.

I created a minotaurus that started off with basic weapons, gained sonic cannons at the first level, plasma cannons at the third level, IX megacannons with self-igniting inkvine splats at the fourth level, and nuclear tipped Guild Megacannons at the sixth level just for proof of concept. It worked very well, although the match didn't last too long after the sixth rank, when the unit singlehandedly destroyed all the computer's and my harvesters/carryalls and then annhiliated his base. THe fact is though that it worked, and thus instead of creating all new units for the mods, we can use the tried and ture units and IMPROVE them in ways that are heretofore unexplored.

[Kingpin]

Here's the majority of the code I used to change the files.

[sound_B]

Continuous = TRUE

MaxRange = 10

Speed = 20//10.0

Debris = DebrisMedium

Damage = 350

DamageFriendly = False

Warhead = sound_W

BlowUp = TRUE            //infantry death anim

ReduceDamageWithDistance = False

FriendlyDamageAmount = 50

[DevPlasma_B]

MaxRange = 9

Speed = 20//10.0

ExplosionType = ShellHit

Debris = DebrisSmall

Damage = 813

Warhead = DevPlasma_W

ExplosionType = DevImpact

BlowUp = TRUE            //infantry death anim

FriendlyDamageAmount = 50

[iXPlasma_B]

Trajectory = true

MaxRange = 50

ExplosionType = InkVineExplosion

Debris = DebrisSmall

Damage = 3000

Warhead = Flame_W

Burnt = TRUE            //infantry death anim

Ignites = TRUE            // Don't ignite other splats!

BlastRadius = 160

ReduceDamageWithDistance = False

FriendlyDamageAmount = 50

[GUPlasma_B]

Trajectory = true

MaxRange = 100

Homing = true

Debris = DebrisMedium

Damage = 3000

Warhead = Howitzer_W

Gassed = TRUE

BlastRadius = 320

ReduceDamageWithDistance = False

FriendlyDamageAmount = 50

DamageColumn = TRUE

ExplosionType = DeathHandSplat      // object left after explosion

[ATMinotaurusGun]

TurretMinXRotation      = -80.0      // 90 degrees up...

TurretMaxXRotation      = 30.0      // down

TurretXRotationAngle      = 2.0

//TurretMinYRotation      = -45

//TurretMaxYRotation      = 45

//TurretYRotationAngle      = 2.0

Bullet = Gunship_B

TurretMuzzleFlash      = Muzzle3

ReloadCount = 90

[ATMinotaurusBase]

//TurretMinXRotation      = -80.0      // 90 degrees up...

//TurretMaxXRotation      = 30.0      // down

//TurretXRotationAngle      = 2.0

TurretMinYRotation      = -45

TurretMaxYRotation      = 45

TurretYRotationAngle      = 5.0

TurretNextJoint            = ATMinotaurusGunA

Bullet = Gunship_B

TurretMuzzleFlash      = Muzzle3

ReloadCount = 90

[ATMinotaurusGunA]

TurretMinXRotation      = -80.0      // 90 degrees up...

TurretMaxXRotation      = 30.0      // down

TurretXRotationAngle      = 2.0

//TurretMinYRotation      = -45

//TurretMaxYRotation      = 45

//TurretYRotationAngle      = 2.0

Bullet = Sound_B

TurretMuzzleFlash = Sonicmuzzle

ReloadCount = 70

[ATMinotaurusBaseA]

//TurretMinXRotation      = -80.0      // 90 degrees up...

//TurretMaxXRotation      = 30.0      // down

//TurretXRotationAngle      = 2.0

TurretMinYRotation      = -45

TurretMaxYRotation      = 45

TurretYRotationAngle      = 5.0

TurretNextJoint            = ATMinotaurusGunB

Bullet = Sound_B

TurretMuzzleFlash = Sonicmuzzle

ReloadCount = 70

[ATMinotaurusGunB]

TurretMinXRotation      = -80.0      // 90 degrees up...

TurretMaxXRotation      = 30.0      // down

TurretXRotationAngle      = 2.0

//TurretMinYRotation      = -45

//TurretMaxYRotation      = 45

//TurretYRotationAngle      = 2.0

TurretMuzzleFlash      = Muzzle2

Bullet = DevPlasma_B

ReloadCount = 60

[ATMinotaurusBaseB]

//TurretMinXRotation      = -80.0      // 90 degrees up...

//TurretMaxXRotation      = 30.0      // down

//TurretXRotationAngle      = 2.0

TurretMinYRotation      = -45

TurretMaxYRotation      = 45

TurretYRotationAngle      = 5.0

TurretNextJoint            = ATMinotaurusGunC

TurretMuzzleFlash      = Muzzle2

Bullet = DevPlasma_B

ReloadCount = 60

[ATMinotaurusBaseC]

//TurretMinXRotation      = -80.0      // 90 degrees up...

//TurretMaxXRotation      = 30.0      // down

//TurretXRotationAngle      = 2.0

TurretMinYRotation      = -45

TurretMaxYRotation      = 45

TurretYRotationAngle      = 5.0

TurretNextJoint            = ATMinotaurusGun

TurretMuzzleFlash      = IXPlasmaFlash

Bullet = IXPlasma_B

ReloadCount = 30

[ATMinotaurusGunC]

TurretMinXRotation      = -80.0      // 90 degrees up...

TurretMaxXRotation      = 30.0      // down

TurretXRotationAngle      = 2.0

//TurretMinYRotation      = -45

//TurretMaxYRotation      = 45

//TurretYRotationAngle      = 2.0

TurretMuzzleFlash      = IXPlasmaFlash

Bullet = IXPlasma_B

ReloadCount = 30

[ATMinotaurusGunD]

TurretMinXRotation      = -80.0      // 90 degrees up...

TurretMaxXRotation      = 30.0      // down

TurretXRotationAngle      = 2.0

//TurretMinYRotation      = -45

//TurretMaxYRotation      = 45

//TurretYRotationAngle      = 2.0

TurretMuzzleFlash      = GUPlasmaFlash

Bullet = GUPlasma_B

ReloadCount = 1

[ATMinotaurusBaseD]

//TurretMinXRotation      = -80.0      // 90 degrees up...

//TurretMaxXRotation      = 30.0      // down

//TurretXRotationAngle      = 2.0

TurretMinYRotation      = -45

TurretMaxYRotation      = 45

TurretYRotationAngle      = 5.0

TurretNextJoint            = ATMinotaurusGunD

TurretMuzzleFlash      = GUPlasmaFlash

Bullet = GUPlasma_B

ReloadCount = 1

[Kingpin]

[ATMinotaurus]

Score = 10

House = Atreides

StormDamage=10 //only damages is never picked up

PrimaryBuilding = COFactory                         //only built in ATFactory

//SecondaryBuilding = HKPalace

UnitGroup = FromFactory

Terrain = Rock, Sand, NBRock, Ramp

UpgradedPrimaryRequired = TRUE

Group = SmWindtrap

PowerGenerated = 100

Occupy = bb

Occupy = bb

Cost = 850

BuildTime = 600

Size = 2

Speed = 8 //6.0      //3                              //game coord per update

MechSpeed = 2

TurnRate = 0.15                              //radians per update

Mech = 1

TurretAttach = ATMinotaurusBase

Armour = Medium

Health = 5000

//SoundSelected = Selected

//SoundOrdered = Ordered

//SoundID = 39

ExplosionType = Explosion

ViewRange = 4,8,InfRock

Debris = DebrisLarge

AiSpecial=TRUE

TechLevel = 5

Starportable = FALSE                        //order from starport (if atreides)

ReinforcementValue = 7

Crushes = TRUE

DamageEffect = MediumDamageFX

ChaosEffect = MediumChaosFX

HawkEffect = MediumHawkFX

TastyToWorms = True

WormAttraction = 7

HitSlowDownAmount = 50                  // Percent (100 = complete stop)

HitSlowDownDuration = 100            // ticks

Roofheight = 44

AIThreat = 90

// LEVEL 1 ----------------------------------

VeterancyLevel = 20      // Score required

Armour = Medium

Health = 5500

CanSelfRepair = 1                              //per model tick

Score = 2

TurretAttach = ATMinotaurusBaseA

// LEVEL 2 ----------------------------------

VeterancyLevel = 40

Armour = Medium

Health = 5500

CanSelfRepair = 2                              //per model tick

Score = 2

// LEVEL 3 ----------------------------------

VeterancyLevel = 80

Armour = Heavy

Health = 6500

CanSelfRepair = 3                              //per model tick

Score = 2

TurretAttach = ATMinotaurusBaseB

Elite = TRUE

// LEVEL 4 ----------------------------------

VeterancyLevel = 200      // Score required

Armour = Heavy

Health = 9000

Score = 200

TurretAttach = ATMinotaurusBaseC

Elite = FALSE

HitSlowDownAmount = 30                  // Percent (100 = complete stop)

HitSlowDownDuration = 100            // ticks

// LEVEL 5 ----------------------------------

VeterancyLevel = 800

Armour = Heavy

Health = 9000

Score = 250

HitSlowDownAmount = 20                  // Percent (100 = complete stop)

HitSlowDownDuration = 100            // ticks

// LEVEL 6 ----------------------------------

VeterancyLevel = 2000

Armour = Massive

Health = 10000

Score = 300

TurretAttach = ATMinotaurusBaseD

HitSlowDownAmount = 10                  // Percent (100 = complete stop)

HitSlowDownDuration = 100            // ticks

[Kingpin]

I configured it to work with the Kwisatz Haderarch modification, so keep that in mind. I also added the new turrets into the object lists near the top of the Rules file.