Author Topic: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks  (Read 4726 times)

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Hanakoganei

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H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« on: July 26, 2012, 08:30:51 AM »
Hey guys. Following some discussion on archery, I decided to take a crack at rebalancing archery a little bit. This is to make archery just a little more realistic. It looks great with the custom animations Floris comes packaged with. A list of changes and benefits below.

First, a short demo video, so you see just how slow the new archery is. You might see some of my other mods in there, but just focus on the archery. :P In the video, I'm using the most powerful basic bow I could use (i.e., no modifications like Masterwork or Strong). It's not the most powerful bow in the game, but my character doesn't have high enough Power Draw to use anything better. :P It is one of the slowest, and has respectable damage. Pay attention also to the shots fired by the opponent, as there are varying levels of bows used. Inside the castle, I'll get shot at by a very light bow, whose arrows I can actually dodge. I think it looks about right compared to a 40~ lbf bow.

Now for the actual modification. Please follow these instructions carefully.

For gamers
, first back up item_kinds1.txt. Then open it up (preferably with Notepad++) and find the line that starts with itm_we_swa_arrow_gromite, and delete all the lines from there until itm_we_pla_pistol_flintlock. Then replace it all with this stuff. Please be careful about your copy-pasting, and make sure you leave the spaces as necessary.
(click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: July 27, 2012, 08:33:41 PM by Hanakoganei »
"To me an unnecessary action, or shot, or casualty, was not only waste but sin."
- T.E. Lawrence

Hanakoganei

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Re: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« Reply #1 on: July 26, 2012, 08:32:52 AM »
For modders, here are the entries in module_items.py. Just replace the existing lines regarding arrows and bows with these lines. As usual, back the file up before editing, just in case you want to revert.
(click to show/hide)


Generalized changes:
(click to show/hide)


All of this has been tested extensively over various situations (open field: flatland, forest, steppe, both night and day; siege; both offense and defense). The results are the following:
(click to show/hide)

Feel free to leave comments and suggestions on how to improve it, or even update with your own tweaks to improve the system. I like it so far but I'm always open to improvement.
« Last Edit: July 27, 2012, 08:37:07 PM by Hanakoganei »
"To me an unnecessary action, or shot, or casualty, was not only waste but sin."
- T.E. Lawrence

oh_no

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Re: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« Reply #2 on: July 26, 2012, 04:20:08 PM »
Interesting!  I'll do some playing with this once I get home later.  I'll have to set all of the pistols to crossbows again, but I'm curious to see what sort of difference this makes.

Duh

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Re: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« Reply #3 on: July 27, 2012, 01:00:37 AM »
Just as a sidenote for balance/realism/whatnot fans - depending on your feedback some of this may be implemented in the main mod. Make sure to test things out, its for your own good :P
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Hanakoganei

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Re: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« Reply #4 on: July 27, 2012, 02:51:03 AM »
Added a demo video to the first post. Instead of commenting in YouTube, leave your comments here so it's easier for me to monitor if you guys have suggestions.
"To me an unnecessary action, or shot, or casualty, was not only waste but sin."
- T.E. Lawrence

oh_no

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Re: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« Reply #5 on: July 27, 2012, 04:03:38 PM »
I haven't had as much time to play as I thought I would, but here are my initial thoughts:

  • I'm now forced to be more conservative with my shots when using a piercing bow.
  • I've been alternating between zooming in and not zooming when taking my shots (for those who never noticed, when you zoom in with a bow, your reticule expands and your shot is less reliable)
  • For the first time since purchasing Warband, I am carrying around more than just the strongest bow I can get my hands on.
  • The new bow speeds suit the animation very well.
  • Bandit ambushes in towns and villages are now less frustrating.  Because of the reduced firing speeds and accuracy, you no longer get turned into a pincushion the moment you enter the scene.  You actually get to see a few arrows fly overhead as you charge toward them.
  • The difference in arrow strengths now has me carrying around different types of arrows; a stronger, small number of black arrows for battles in the filed (where I can ride back and restock if needed) and a weaker, larger number of Sarranid Arrows for sieges.
  • The variety of bow and arrows types no longer feels redundant.  It's no longer a sufficient to find an Imperial War Bow or Sarranid Strong Bow with a larger bag of Amazon Arrows and be content.  The stats make certain types more viable depending on your location and the type of enemy you'll be fighting, and so the large number of bows and arrows no longer feels like a cosmetic addition.


Hanakoganei

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Re: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2012, 04:18:58 PM »
lol :)

Glad you like it so far. I also feel like a better archer suddenly. I'm getting fewer shots off per second but I feel like I'm hitting more, even with the 85 accuracy bows. It's probably just a psychological thing but maybe taking more time per shot is also helping, whereas I would just keep firing and firing until I hit before.

I play a very mobile character, and I personally tend to use the most arrows that comes from a Large Bag while maintaining the least possible weight. This way I can carry two of them and still be able to dart around the battlefield as necessary.

(click to show/hide)
"To me an unnecessary action, or shot, or casualty, was not only waste but sin."
- T.E. Lawrence

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Re: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« Reply #7 on: July 27, 2012, 04:35:10 PM »
Splendid work. Would it take much longer to fire from a long bow?

Hanakoganei

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Re: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« Reply #8 on: July 27, 2012, 04:54:41 PM »
Yeah the Swadian Longbow is one of the slowest bows in the game. The Longbow is also significantly slow. The other longbows in the game like the Self Bow and Straight Bow are about average speed (but still much slower than Native/default Floris settings).

The only "fast" bows are practice bows, whose draw weights typically for children or people that are just now learning to use a bow. But in the hands of a good archer, a practice bow might be a deadly weapon against unarmored opponents, but may not be enough to bring down a knight in plate armor.

- edit:
Changed the "Khergit Heavy Bow" to be 5 difficulty (and therefore slower + stronger as well), to differentiate it from the "Khergit Bow" and add some variety between it and the "pattern bows". If you already have my tweaks, you only need to copy and overwrite the relevant line.
(click to show/hide)

Also! I'd like to hear everybody's input on the balance between the arrows, particularly price vs. damage + arrow count. I'm all for variety (obviously) but I want you guys to check if there are some arrows that seem too cheap or expensive for their relative performance, etc.
« Last Edit: July 27, 2012, 05:27:40 PM by Hanakoganei »
"To me an unnecessary action, or shot, or casualty, was not only waste but sin."
- T.E. Lawrence

ruralvirginian

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Re: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« Reply #9 on: July 27, 2012, 06:13:28 PM »
Best arrow for the price are the Sarrinid Black Arrows.  You can pick up a normall load of 28 +3 arrows for under 600 denars.  Khergit 'colored arrows" (green, yellow, Mongolian piercing reds) usually run over 800 denars for the same +3 ability.

Also, many folks dismiss the Nord bows.  They may be low in power (26-28) but the speed is usually 120.  In the hands of an expert archer (+5 and above) a Nord bow with black arrows becomes a very deadly proposition - 2-3 arrows placed accurately in the time it takes a crossbowman or longbowman to place one.
What am I doing tonight? The same thing I do every night... Try to take over Calradia! - the Brain


Hanakoganei

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Re: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« Reply #10 on: July 27, 2012, 06:19:45 PM »
Uhh... I'm talking about the balance from my tweaks. D: None of what you said is true anymore since the tweaks.
"To me an unnecessary action, or shot, or casualty, was not only waste but sin."
- T.E. Lawrence

ruralvirginian

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Re: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« Reply #11 on: July 27, 2012, 06:26:17 PM »
Oops - sorry Hanakoganei...that's what I get for not reading ALL the posts rather than the last 2-3  :oops:

OK - BEFORE Hanakoganei's tweaks the best arrow for the price was the Sarranid Black Arrow...
What am I doing tonight? The same thing I do every night... Try to take over Calradia! - the Brain


Shadowjak101

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Re: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« Reply #12 on: July 27, 2012, 06:31:53 PM »
Hi there - the archery changes look good, but what really caught my eye was in your demo video you can order your troops to go to a certain spot by looking at it and setting a flag there.  How can I get that?! lol That's a function I really feel is sorely needed in my game currently.

oh_no

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Re: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« Reply #13 on: July 27, 2012, 07:05:49 PM »
(click to show/hide)

Gromite Arrows are slightly stronger, come in a larger number, and are slightly cheaper than Sarranid Arrows.  I'll edit this post as I play.

Also, the Long Bow cannot be used on horseback.

Hanakoganei

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Re: H.T.'s Archery Tweaks
« Reply #14 on: July 27, 2012, 07:58:04 PM »
Yeah I suddenly noticed that I forgot to apply some of the horse-related flags. I'm fixing them now. Fixed, and updated the first post with the info.

I'm thinking of this kind of rebalance for the arrows as well. Let me know what you guys think. The arrows in the first post should now reflect these changes:

(If you don't want to try these out, just don't copy the entries regarding arrows and keep what we already had going).
(click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: July 27, 2012, 08:34:59 PM by Hanakoganei »
"To me an unnecessary action, or shot, or casualty, was not only waste but sin."
- T.E. Lawrence