Vanilla Balance Mod Beta - Testers Wanted

[TheFlamingRed]

http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/motorsport-manager-balance-mod-part-1.12965/

Make sure you down load all the parts!​

This mod has now been released. All the changes are listed in the above link. If a Forum Admin is reading this, if you could remove the "Testers Wanted" and change it to "Development Discussion" thread, it would be appreciated.

UPDATED TO WORK WITH 1.3​

Note: In attempts to fix the interviews and dilemmas, I have temporarily removed all non English languages from those two files. I hope to reinsert them into a later version (but when I do, they'll still be the vanilla text as I am unable to translate in any other language).

 

[Beynasuh]

Hello TheFlamingRed, thank you for enormous work! I have a question about your chassis overhaul. Does increasing stars in Tyre wear STILL affects actual tyre wear, or its now only affcets base redzone?

It does both of them.

 

[Trainer]

These two variables are probably used.

private static readonly float carImprovementReliabilityMinAggression = 1f;
private static readonly float carImprovementReliabilityMaxAggression = 0.5f;

Looks to be used with hit:

public void FitPartsWithMinReliability()
    {
        CarManager carManager = this.mTeam.carManager;
        float num = Mathf.Lerp(TeamAIController.carImprovementReliabilityMinAggression, TeamAIController.carImprovementReliabilityMaxAggression, this.mTeam.aiWeightings.mAggressiveness);
        for (int i = 0; i < CarManager.carCount; i++)
        {
            Car car = carManager.GetCar(i);
            for (int j = 0; j < car.currentPart.Length; j++)
            {
                CarPart carPart = car.currentPart[j];
                if (carPart.stats.reliability < num)
                {
                    CarPart suitablePartForCar = this.GetSuitablePartForCar(carManager, carPart, num);
                    if (suitablePartForCar != null)
                    {
                        car.FitPart(suitablePartForCar);
                    }
                }
            }
        }

First glance, is that depending on the agressivness of the team, they'll fit a part either 50% minumum or 100% minimum, or the highest if those conditions cannot be meant. It appears elsewhere they'll take their highest stat parts and improve those to either 50% or 100% on a first come first serve basis.

I've not studied it properly, it may be acting differently.

U mean the if I changed the - carimprovementreliabilityMAXagression - to 0.7 the put only parts with minimum of 70%?

 

[TheFlamingRed]

Flaming what happens if I choose to copy your latest experimental assembly-file over the one I use right now (Easy Mode). will my difficulty level stay the same...??? if not could you upload the latest modified ass.file with all the difficulty levels available. and can i overwrite it and continue to play my ongoing save?

It will automatically change to Challenging difficulty. There's just the one difficulty in that experimental file as I continue to test the game.

When I next do a full update, all the working experimental changes will become official and be within all the difficulties,

Hello TheFlamingRed, thank you for enormous work! I have a question about your chassis overhaul. Does increasing stars in Tyre wear STILL affects actual tyre wear, or its now only affcets base redzone?

Yes. My changes to the chassis are In Addition To what they already do... not replacing.

U mean the if I changed the - carimprovementreliabilityMAXagression - to 0.7 the put only parts with minimum of 70%?

Theoretically yeah, you'll need to test it. Which will be the hard part.

Edit: also, I have just seen my mod download massively over the last couple of days. I originally had about 500 users since December 7th... over the last two days the main file has had ~1500 downloads. Anyone know where the current stream of users has come from. I've not advertised it anywhere.

 

[Beynasuh]

You don't need to. Anyone who searches the net for mod comes eventually to this site. They are quite a few mods who puts realism (real teams, real driver, real staff and parts) in to the game and some of the are good too. But so far no other mod has changed the game so much (I mean in a very good way) except yours. It brings more challenge in to the game and raises re-playability.

 

[Trainer]

strange, i think there is no different.

 

[TheFlamingRed]

You don't need to. Anyone who searches the net for mod comes eventually to this site. They are quite a few mods who puts realism (real teams, real driver, real staff and parts) in to the game and some of the are good too. But so far no other mod has changed the game so much (I mean in a very good way) except yours. It brings more challenge in to the game and raises re-playability.

It was more the case of wondering if (a) Someone just downloaded the mod 1000 times or (b) someone has managed to tell 1000 people to come download the mod. It's too big a jump in such a short time for it to be a natural rise. In the case of the latter, I'm interested in knowing where the sudden appeal come from. Nothing wrong with either scenario, I'm just as happy if 1 person likes the mod, or 1000, so long as I am one of them. I'm just curious if anyone heard of anyone advertising the mod.

strange, i think there is no different.

It's going to be hard to test, because if the AI don't start with a part above 70% reliability, then they'll have to fit one below. Are you seeing that the number makes no difference, or simply that the AI hasn't improved the parts enough yet

PART 3 - 1.2g V2.00 out

​

• The Following Experimental Changes have now been moved into every difficulty.
  • 1. Hudson made a fix for the AI able to continue after retiring. I have implemented that fix in this version. Thanks Hudson Hopefully that's now fixed.
       
    2. I believe I have fixed the FanBase always decreasing. I believe the devs simply set it that you LOSE fanbase whenever your car exceeds race expectations, instead of GAIN it. Hopefully that's now fixed.
       
    3. I have decreased the maximum moral boost from a race the driver get, from a max total of 20% to 5%. Driver morale was simply too easy to raise / sustain.
       
    4. I have doubled (maybe accidentally quadrupled depending on how the stat is used) the growth in stats of a reserve driver. This should make it more incentive to get one with good potential and help him develop. The reserve driver slot should now play a bit more like a 'young driver development' center. It seems they now gain Half A Star Per Season in reserve - other perimeters permitting (i.e., not too old, not at their limit etc).
    5. Yellow Flags have been set to last between 30s and 120s (from 10-20)
    6. Virtual Safety now present for 45s - 120 (from 15-45s)
    7. Safety Car now now last anywhere between 1-4 laps (up from 1 lap)
    8. Changed it so Non-Aero Parts will result in a Retirement 90% of the time once their durability hits zero (up from 50%)
    9. Changed the minimum amount the chairman will let you spend on a chassis, even if it puts you into the red (this is because of an change to Part Suppliers which is still being worked on).
• The AI are much better now with the their Development Cost Reduction. I have reduced the +50 from the AI tech boost.
  
• I have implemented the P2 Personality Trait Fix from post 286

 

[Trainer]

i have tested with TeamAIwightness between 0-0,9 and maxagression.

in all races the same Drivers fail with their parts!

the build the part and fit it in the car.

 

[Trainer]

it will a big Problem in the later game of the Season.

the AI start with 20% red Zone and improved the car 2-4times. nor they have 40-50% red Zone.

The AI go for 1-3into the box for repairing!

 

[TheFlamingRed]

it will a big Problem in the later game of the Season.

the AI start with 20% red Zone and improved the car 2-4times. nor they have 40-50% red Zone.

The AI go for 1-3into the box for repairing!

Oddly, this doesn't happen as often as I thought it would. Yes, some cars have to pit for a repair every now and then but, in general, everything plays out okay. This mod is currently making it hard enough, that if you can use the AI's need to pit for repairs to your advantage, then you can take it and not feel cheap.

 

[Beynasuh]

Nice work done FlamingRed. Downloaded the new 1.2q v2. Will try it out tomorrow.

4- So is this the race event growth for the reserve, or is it the growth by buildings and his personal growth stat?
8- You mean anything else but Front and Rear Wing right?

 

[TheFlamingRed]

Nice work done FlamingRed. Downloaded the new 1.2q v2. Will try it out tomorrow.

4- So is this the race event growth for the reserve, or is it the growth by buildings and his personal growth stat?
8- You mean anything else but Front and Rear Wing right?

4 - this is weekly growth. You'll notice your reserve driver will gain about a half star per year (age being right, potential correct, etc). Normal drivers will only gain about a quater of a star per year.

8 - yes. They only have a 10% chance of causing a retirement. That was default by vanilla.

 

[Zero260]

I have implemented the P2 Personality Trait Fix from post 286

Thank you for sneaking this in your latest update! It wasn't a big deal but you still took the time to fix it. This is how all game devs should be like. Kudos! Already a big fan of your work.

 

[Zero260]

BTW would you know how to modify or add new pre-race and post-race tweets in game? They're starting to sound too repetitive and boring after several races too. Would be nice if we could somehow customize this.

 

[weegeebored]

Thanks for adding the experimental features to all difficulty levels, TFR. I wasn't quite ready to jump to the the challenging difficulty level, but I loved the fixes in experimental. I was about to start a new game with the Balance mod but now I am glad I waited for your latest release. Kudos!

Also, do you think there will ever be a GUI editor for your mod? That way we could choose what features we would want and also the levels without having to delve deep into the code for those of us not talented in that regard.

 

[TheFlamingRed]

Thank you for sneaking this in your latest update! It wasn't a big deal but you still took the time to fix it. This is how all game devs should be like. Kudos! Already a big fan of your work.

No problem. I was running the fix in my game as well as all my changes, so it was always going to be included in the next batch of the released files.

BTW would you know how to modify or add new pre-race and post-race tweets in game? They're starting to sound too repetitive and boring after several races too. Would be nice if we could somehow customize this.

Likely. I doubt it's a graphic file because it can substitute in any name / team / driver depending on the information at hand. So it's a text file.

If we got a small team of people willing to write tweets (to a template), we could probably create 100s of new tweets. The only limitation being is the work writers are willing to put in.

The same is likely true of Dilemmas and Interviews. The former is a text file I've already edited, so it is likely that we can add new ones. The latter is likely done with a similar format.

If anyone is interested in writing some of these things to add 'flavor' to the game, let me know and I'll start a new thread with the templates.

Thanks for adding the experimental features to all difficulty levels, TFR. I wasn't quite ready to jump to the the challenging difficulty level, but I loved the fixes in experimental. I was about to start a new game with the Balance mod but now I am glad I waited for your latest release. Kudos!

Also, do you think there will ever be a GUI editor for your mod? That way we could choose what features we would want and also the levels without having to delve deep into the code for those of us not talented in that regard.

There will never be a GUI editor. I'm not so much creating a mod, as I am just editing the games files.

What will happen one day is the devs will say that they've 'finished' with the game and moving on to the next project, by which time I assume I will have completed the mod as well. When that time comes, I'll probably split the mod into a few versions: e.g., One with all features, one without the chassis changes, one without tech decay, etc etc - all depending on what people would like to have a choice of.

I'm not separating my mod until then though. It's a lot of work and I'm only going to do it once when we're (both me and the devs) all finished

 

[Zero260]

If we got a small team of people willing to write tweets (to a template), we could probably create 100s of new tweets. The only limitation being is the work writers are willing to put in.

The same is likely true of Dilemmas and Interviews. The former is a text file I've already edited, so it is likely that we can add new ones. The latter is likely done with a similar format.

That's good to know. Would I be able to format tweets that would refer to the previous race results like crashes, retirement and weather condition aside from the final stadings? It would be nice to add those flavors to tweets to make it more realistic. I'm sure there are willing community members who can contribute in this mod, I'd be happy to add in my ideas for tweets and post-race interviews, knowing which parameters they can detect will enhance this.

 

[TheFlamingRed]

That's good to know. Would I be able to format tweets that would refer to the previous race results like crashes, retirement and weather condition aside from the final stadings? It would be nice to add those flavors to tweets to make it more realistic. I'm sure there are willing community members who can contribute in this mod, I'd be happy to add in my ideas for tweets and post-race interviews, knowing which parameters they can detect will enhance this.

I don't assume there are many parameters, if any, it might be entirely random. It's beautiful flavour but after a while I stopped noticing tweets as much, as they were mostly the same. Still, just being able to reword the same message would be interesting enough.

I'll have a proper look tonight and see what's available.

 

[weegeebored]

I would help out with writing new text, be it dilemmas, tweets, and/or interviews.

 

[TheFlamingRed]

Well, I'll start by looking at tweets, which is quite easy from the looks of it. I'll start a new thread tonight or tomorrow. I'll deliver some first observations.

There are already 464 Tweets. Though some trigger a lot more then others. That is a hell of a lot of work someone did.

Of course, each tweet is available in:French, Italian, German, Spanish, Brasilian, Dutch, Hungarian, Polish, and Russian. So if we want to make these changes available to everyone, we're going to need interpretors. Oddly, There is a column for Triggers... but its empty for all tweets. As is Memory, Notes and English Old language. All redundant columns. Also, not all Tweets are repatable, which I am surprised at. May have to change that.... Some don't have a GameArea attached, so I assume are inactive.

The only issue is that theres a ID: PSG_1000XXXX for each tweet - and these are normally image files. I therefore assume that these are the "faces" of the tweeters (or maybe their Name/company), as they're the only thing that can potentially be images. We're just going to have to reuse current images for this section.

But here's a file you can open in excel and start looking at it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5mjz7paqssbzirv/Tweets - Basic.xlsx?dl=0

There's an awful lot more options then I anticipated. Driver Positions, Circuits, Practice/Qualy/Race specific, Race position on the calender. There's to many for me to list, so inspect how this spreadsheet is worded to find out how they're activating.

Looking at it, we can make as many tweets as we like so long as we use pre-existing perameters from the other 464 tweets. I personally recommend copying the entire line of a tweet which matches closely what you want to create, add it to the bottom of the list, and then edit your copy.

As a sidenote. I can increase the number of generated tweets per weekend in the DLL too, so we can simple see more then the half dozen or so that is generated.



///Edit/// Dilemmas and Interviews are not too much different but are more complex. Instead of 'One Row' being 'One Tweet', its:

• 4/5 Rows per dilemma (because of the outcome options)
• about 30 Rows for the Interview (because its about 3 questsions each with at least 3 outcome options)

The whole interview Post Race seems to be mostly broken. There are tonnes of options regarding "Expected finishing position" vs "Actual Finishing position". But only some are triggering, which is why you see "Driver who should have finsihed 10th finished 2nd.... It was a bad race for her!"

 

[TheFlamingRed]

And this is why...

Not it isn't.... Ignore all this. This is all incorrect. Skip to Post 350 to see what's going on!

"Type = Question1; #1PlayerDriverRacePositionVsExpectation > 2;FiredDriverBeforeInterview = False;"
MediaPerson :
"That seemed to be a very testing weekend for {#1PlayerDriver:Name}…"

I read that as Player 1 Got a better race position then expected! That was a testing weekend!

They've put the > 2 instead of a <2... SO it ALWAYS triggers when a driver does better then expected. instead of asking about other questions!

I've correctd it, and got a completely DIFFERENT interview.

​

I don't think this interview is correct (I am expected to finish 11/12th) either but it's not the interview I normally get where I slate my drivers for doing better then expected.

I think I can fix all of them