Question re: spawned squad equipment - You describe them as "independent/elite", so would they be carrying mid- to late-/end-game equipment? I'm trying to get my game set-up so that better (or should I say, the full spread of) weapons are (is) a little easier to come by if I so choose. Farming the likes of the G36 and PSG, 40mm HE round, etc. is quite time-consuming and VERY tedious is the mid- to late-game once you have more than a single squad of mercs.
So, I'm just curious about the loot quality of the new spawns, mostly in the base game, but also if any weapon mods are used (I think you mention Timmeh's weapon mod?)
The loot quality is not controlled by this mod directly, only the enemy quality. You can customize your loot expectations using any of the suggested mods below: 1. Custom Settings - easy to use with plenty of options on drop percentages. This can guarantee elites dropping all/any gear they are equipped with. In vanilla this will provide you a plentiful supply of HE 40mm. 2. For rare weapons such as PSG and Barrett you need to add a mod that alters either squads loadouts or their random loot tables... Early vanilla game tip: With a high leadership merc you can visit Col. Faucheau fort (at peace) and convince couple of quartermasters there to give you couple of PSG. I have made several modules for my own use covering the availability of these high end weapons as well as plenty of field conversions for 40 mm ammo, however I am holding them back for now till Bobby Ray critical update will be live... Depending on how the devs will make it happens, will reevaluate and likely post a suite of modules... Hope this helps, Cheers!
Hi, while I did enjoy the mod (had quite some fun wasting 200 ennemies plus ( just multiply each squad x5 and let 5 of them take a sector before attacking) which also requires effective pause and having 5 or 6 mercs firing GL and a charged satchel throw to start the combat(else you got stuck...)) ) which becomes ridiculous with Ivan who can get 250 AP in no time and get to level 30 in no time... ) I think it still deserves A LOT of work to be even called 3.13. I mean ja2 1.13 was YEARS of work combined by hundreds of passionate people. You can't just throw in a code that will spawn enemies every 24h and go toward last merc location. It needs to be graduate at first : only legion attacks every 7 days before you encover the truth of corazon betrayal, then no legion at all. and attacks every 3,4 days. If you are too lazy to make some progression give people at least the opportunity and the mod options to define when the attacks happen. My 2 cents, because this can be great but it's just something crazy people like me would use to make biggest battles possible for fun.
Hi m8, Thx for your feedback, much appreciated. What you describe is one extreme possible use of the mod, you choose to create conditions to happen. This is intended, to enable the player to indirectly tailor the scale of his battles via strategic movement/actions on the map. Progression wise, you have plenty of options, such as: 1. Either don't take any, or allow enemy to recapture the outposts, will only spawn Legion, thus ensuring a smoother progression - low quality loot. 2. You can enable/disable the mod safely at any time to fine tune the frequency of the attacks. ... Ivan was one of my favorite mercs since Metavira... sadly, in JA3, I could not push meself to hire him even once... his perk is ridiculous... not to mention SVD burst fire... It looks like devs are fleshing up fast a number of aspects that did not got it to initial release, likely well have more options in few months to work on more elaborate mods... I would suggest you may want to review more details on the mod behavior, should you have few moments, please see the previous posts/comments in this thread. Hope this helps, Cheers!
Yeah, I've read all the posts, you should definitly regroup with other modders and make something great out of this, it has the potential. For Ivan someone should make a mod that allow him to only regenerate 3ap per attack that kills ( no matter how many enemies it does) else it's ridiculous, especially vs large group of enemies that spawn all grouped together. He will still be super powerfull but not a game breaker. I only dislike seing Legion and army being pals and the defensive options kinda become boring after a while just because all enemies tend to spawn grouped ( run fast to them then few explosives are enough and repeat each time...) Anyway I see the great potential hope it will expand further, thanks for the fun
Have you tried to augment the AI with mods such as Tactical Enemy? You'll have enemy going stealth ambushing and snipers dispatching your mercs in 1 shot... I agree, Legion/Army/Adonis being pals should be addressed as soon as the appropriate editor tools will be released. Thanks again for the feedback, it will help for future development of the mod. Cheers!
I'd also like to clarify. Do these squads take the same route every time? Is it theoretically possible to gradually reclaim the map by holding the waves?
The pathfinding logic is the same for AI and player squads, the fastest route to destination sector, however the player has the ability force move on a specific path by shift select the desired sectors. The strategic map indeed has several choke points, couple of them are Chalet de la Paix (+workshop) and Old Mine (+workshop in Cacao Docks). Especially Chalet de la Paix is ideal location to block anything coming/generated from the East. This mod significantly increase the intensity and the scale of the conflict, please find more details on the front page - Strategy recommendations section. Should you wish to command the entire map, you may want to consider additional mods to boost your resources and manpower accordingly, such as extra, cheap, low lvl mercs mods. Cheers!
i must say its really how i like it. tons of enemys attacking me. have 2 other mods already installed (so sectors with 200+ i have already seen). but maybe a little bit more time between the waves. there nearly any time for repairng or healing between the attack waves.
Hi, glad you enjoy it. 200+ would be an exceptional case... can you provide more details on this instance please? Due to the map limitations, described in detail on the front page, your feedback on this encounter will be very helpful for future development of this mod :) In my playthroughs I've stimulated medical training on most of my mercs... just in case... On strat ops you can assign as many doctors as you have available, thus speeding recovery significantly. Regarding repairing work, you might like to consider having available spare gear sets to switch on when pressure peaks up. Battlefield loot and scavenging are more meaningful, with this mod, and may provide replacements for worn equipment... Future updates will provide ancillary modules to this mod to increase the usefulness of looting and scaving. Thx for the feedback, Cheers!
thank you for u reply. i have seen it in good place (or how that prision is called) but i think that was my other mod (random enemy squad) from timmeh.
but i have figured out i can activate and deactivate it at any time - because if i would run it all the time i would not have any break to do other stuff like going on in the story - they really attacking nonestop - but thasts how i like it and must say the army and shock soldiers r really much more challanging than any others i have seen (not sure if your mod do it(. but because most of them have stealth armors night op are the best :D
and spare gear is a good idea. i had 5 fights in a row all during night + rain. mikes mk48 was only at 37% after that. so it was more luck that i survived this ^^
and because of some other mods (gc militia and a new perk mod) its really good way to level up.
---------------------- so my conclusion is. for ppl who like it difficlut with lots of waves its an ideal mod who would love it. but if u want to play storyline it can be really busy all the time :D
Hi m8, Thx for the feedback, seems you approached Good Place from the East, at night, and you may had a rare triple spawn on the tile West of it, heading to your location... From your description I guess you are using Tactical Enemy mod as well... Using JA3.13 mod render the classic approach of having only one main squad/group inefficient, it will eventually result in being pinned down in place thus losing strategic initiative. In my playthroughs I found it best to have 2 main independent groups of mercs continuously alternating attack/defense stance cycles between them. This will ensure enough time for maintenance/rest and will evenly split elites attacks b/w them. Further more, this strategy will grant complete freedom of movement and secure initiative on the map. Hope this helps, Cheers!
Hi. First of all I want to say thank you for a great mod. But still generating squads every day is kind of crazy. Is it possible to change the timer to a week for example?
Hi m8, Glad you liked it. As I mentioned on the front page, you can safely just temporarily deactivate the mod. When you are good and ready, activated back on :) When you deactivate the mod, the new generations will stop, however the squads already generated will not be deleted. You can, if you like, manipulate this feature, such as creating pockets, or concentrations, of enemy squads which you can dispatch at your leisure. You can indirectly tailor your experience by adopting a high mobility playstyle for more offensive battles, or static for more defensive ones. Hope this helps, Cheers!
@LJGDA Hi, very nice mod. let me tell you about the problem below: 1. I started new game 2. I cleared all Erny and have poor guns (ak47, gewer and like this) 3. I can fight off 1st wave soldier (not legion, exactly soldier with ar15 and another guns for last game) 4. And for erly game I have 2 ar-15 and m16
As an idea, is it possible to generate squad weapons based on the progress of the game?Otherwise, the balance of getting better weapons as the story progresses breaks down.Thanks for the mod!
Hi m8, I'm glad you liked the mod. If your preference is a more gradual progress, just don't capture Ernie Island outpost, instead head for the mainland after you finish the village. As long as you refrain from taking any outpost you'll only face Legion enemies, as such the loot will be low level, at best you could get some M24 or Famas from them. Alternatively, if you "Allow" the enemy to recapture the outposts, the mod will cease to generate any elite squads, only occasional diamond case squad. The mod is designed this way to allow for maximum flexibility regarding the quest line, as such: - If you need to recruit Larry, capture Camp Savane (better having the Metaviron from Lalee), then simply withdraw and let the enemy recapture it, if you so choose. - A similar approach will work for Pierre quest line. - The player have the choice on new campaign, progression wise, either delay capturing any outpost resulting in low lvl loot, smoother weapon progression, and somewhat more elusive presence in the country, OR, go loud and poke the bear, high risk high reward play style that will provide access to quality gear right from the start of the campaign. I hope this clarify the mod behavior and answer your question. I guess I should post this on the front page, will do it shortly... Please let me know should you need more assistance, and thx for the feedback, much appreciated. Cheers!
Hi, the mod do not alter the travel speed mechanic, however the elites squads have leaders in their roster, as such their speed will receive whatever bonus speed results from the highest leadership stat of their members. In one of my playthrough I tested a similar approach, digging in and fending attacks Ernie for about a week, or as long as your bank account allows, resulted in quality gear and solid Xp for my mercs, +4-5 ish levels... Ernie is quite easy to defend even when facing both North and South simultaneous attack, provided you start with 10-12 cheap mercs, with 2-3 explosive specialists, and use the workshop for a steady HE underslug grenades production. Whenever you want/need to break out, just head out for the mainland. From what you described I am guessing you got a streak of spawns very close to Ernie. That is not a rule, next day the spawns may occur upriver or far North allowing enough time to break out for the mainland. Once on the mainland, be mindful, you can "Deceive" the AI to hunt you in a location of your choice, by orchestrating multiple attacks... The spawns will head up for A.I.M. "Last Known Location"... This is intended feature in order to enable the player more meaningful strategic decisions. Hope this helps and answers your question, please let me know should you need further assistance. Cheers!
@LJGDA Hi, Tactical Enemy Mod team here. It is a great mod idea and I use it with our mod plus Timmeh's mods then the gaming experience is very pleasing! Really enjoyed for many hours today :) I hope we can teamup and make JA3 better in a near future. Currently, we are updating our Tactical Enemy mod to a new level, so keep in touch and hope if possible someday you can join us soon! Cheers m8 :))
Hi guys, I'm very glad reading your message, kind Sirs... For a moment I was starting to feel like a dinosaur, unable to understand the "Modern Audience" LOL. I welcome the idea of teaming up, please DM me your preferred discord details, I'm looking forward to meet you. Also, I'm not using steam, as such please feel free to upload and manage this mod over there if you would like to do so. Thx for the feedback and kind words, Cheers!
Great m8 Once we complete our Tactical Enemy Mod v2.0 update, I wish I could add you as one of the mod contributors then we can do more for JA3 sooner or later lol Indeed this mod is very essential now cheers lots of fun!
I´m afraid JA2 1.13 was much more than waves and waves of enemies advancing as a swarm more than this mod. If you can make AI act like in the original mod, I´ll be all in. So far, this is an extreme version of Impossible.
M8... I just posted this mod yesterday... I wonder... did you actually tested and played it, or are you simply making cabotin reflections on the screenshots?... Are you aware of the capital rule of JA legacy - The harder it is, the easier it gets... For AI, there are a number of mods out there, personally I'm using Tactical Enemy, and yes it is working just fine... You'll have stealth/camo enemies ambushing and snipers dispatching your mercs in one shot... Is challenging when facing 60+enemies, and battles may last well into 30+ turns... JA3 have/introduce a number of interesting mechanics, but in vanilla you barely have the opportunity to use them... you need a steady flow of enemies to experience them... The purpose of this mod is to correct that... to create the opportunity, and need, to employ all means at your disposal and bring back the strategy in the game. To put it in perspective, Grand Chien is not a sight seeing stroll anymore... now it will look more as a careful, aimed and planned operation... And also as a nation wide hunt for cheeky A.I.M. interference into GC internal affairs :) Difficulty wise you can simply adjust it as you are comfortable with, on default settings it barely add any significant challenge to vanilla. This is a first issue, I'll keep updating and further adjust it based on feedback and testing, possibly adding more nuanced strategic events... Should you would like to help, please test it and share your feedback... and suggestions. Cheers!
No, not the screenshots, just your whole description. In my next game maybe I install this but as you describe it, so far looks like it´s a tons of enemies mod but if they keep entering our mercs killing zones without avoiding them or even going in and out, I don´t think it´s a big game changer, at least in my opinion. Thanks for your effort anyway, I´ll follow your career with great interest. :D
28 comments
So, I'm just curious about the loot quality of the new spawns, mostly in the base game, but also if any weapon mods are used (I think you mention Timmeh's weapon mod?)
The loot quality is not controlled by this mod directly, only the enemy quality.
You can customize your loot expectations using any of the suggested mods below:
1. Custom Settings - easy to use with plenty of options on drop percentages. This can guarantee elites dropping all/any gear they are equipped with. In vanilla this will provide you a plentiful supply of HE 40mm.
2. For rare weapons such as PSG and Barrett you need to add a mod that alters either squads loadouts or their random loot tables...
Early vanilla game tip: With a high leadership merc you can visit Col. Faucheau fort (at peace) and convince couple of quartermasters there to give you couple of PSG.
I have made several modules for my own use covering the availability of these high end weapons as well as plenty of field conversions for 40 mm ammo, however I am holding them back for now till Bobby Ray critical update will be live... Depending on how the devs will make it happens, will reevaluate and likely post a suite of modules...
Hope this helps,
Cheers!
My 2 cents, because this can be great but it's just something crazy people like me would use to make biggest battles possible for fun.
Thx for your feedback, much appreciated.
What you describe is one extreme possible use of the mod, you choose to create conditions to happen. This is intended, to enable the player to indirectly tailor the scale of his battles via strategic movement/actions on the map.
Progression wise, you have plenty of options, such as:
1. Either don't take any, or allow enemy to recapture the outposts, will only spawn Legion, thus ensuring a smoother progression - low quality loot.
2. You can enable/disable the mod safely at any time to fine tune the frequency of the attacks.
... Ivan was one of my favorite mercs since Metavira... sadly, in JA3, I could not push meself to hire him even once... his perk is ridiculous... not to mention SVD burst fire... It looks like devs are fleshing up fast a number of aspects that did not got it to initial release, likely well have more options in few months to work on more elaborate mods...
I would suggest you may want to review more details on the mod behavior, should you have few moments, please see the previous posts/comments in this thread.
Hope this helps,
Cheers!
I agree, Legion/Army/Adonis being pals should be addressed as soon as the appropriate editor tools will be released.
Thanks again for the feedback, it will help for future development of the mod.
Cheers!
The strategic map indeed has several choke points, couple of them are Chalet de la Paix (+workshop) and Old Mine (+workshop in Cacao Docks).
Especially Chalet de la Paix is ideal location to block anything coming/generated from the East.
This mod significantly increase the intensity and the scale of the conflict, please find more details on the front page - Strategy recommendations section.
Should you wish to command the entire map, you may want to consider additional mods to boost your resources and manpower accordingly, such as extra, cheap, low lvl mercs mods.
Cheers!
200+ would be an exceptional case... can you provide more details on this instance please? Due to the map limitations, described in detail on the front page, your feedback on this encounter will be very helpful for future development of this mod :)
In my playthroughs I've stimulated medical training on most of my mercs... just in case... On strat ops you can assign as many doctors as you have available, thus speeding recovery significantly.
Regarding repairing work, you might like to consider having available spare gear sets to switch on when pressure peaks up. Battlefield loot and scavenging are more meaningful, with this mod, and may provide replacements for worn equipment...
Future updates will provide ancillary modules to this mod to increase the usefulness of looting and scaving.
Thx for the feedback,
Cheers!
but i have figured out i can activate and deactivate it at any time - because if i would run it all the time i would not have any break to do other stuff like going on in the story - they really attacking nonestop - but thasts how i like it and must say the army and shock soldiers r really much more challanging than any others i have seen (not sure if your mod do it(. but because most of them have stealth armors night op are the best :D
and spare gear is a good idea. i had 5 fights in a row all during night + rain. mikes mk48 was only at 37% after that. so it was more luck that i survived this ^^
and because of some other mods (gc militia and a new perk mod) its really good way to level up.
----------------------
so my conclusion is. for ppl who like it difficlut with lots of waves its an ideal mod who would love it. but if u want to play storyline it can be really busy all the time :D
Thx for the feedback, seems you approached Good Place from the East, at night, and you may had a rare triple spawn on the tile West of it, heading to your location...
From your description I guess you are using Tactical Enemy mod as well...
Using JA3.13 mod render the classic approach of having only one main squad/group inefficient, it will eventually result in being pinned down in place thus losing strategic initiative.
In my playthroughs I found it best to have 2 main independent groups of mercs continuously alternating attack/defense stance cycles between them. This will ensure enough time for maintenance/rest and will evenly split elites attacks b/w them. Further more, this strategy will grant complete freedom of movement and secure initiative on the map.
Hope this helps,
Cheers!
Glad you liked it.
As I mentioned on the front page, you can safely just temporarily deactivate the mod. When you are good and ready, activated back on :)
When you deactivate the mod, the new generations will stop, however the squads already generated will not be deleted.
You can, if you like, manipulate this feature, such as creating pockets, or concentrations, of enemy squads which you can dispatch at your leisure.
You can indirectly tailor your experience by adopting a high mobility playstyle for more offensive battles, or static for more defensive ones.
Hope this helps,
Cheers!
1. I started new game
2. I cleared all Erny and have poor guns (ak47, gewer and like this)
3. I can fight off 1st wave soldier (not legion, exactly soldier with ar15 and another guns for last game)
4. And for erly game I have 2 ar-15 and m16
As an idea, is it possible to generate squad weapons based on the progress of the game?Otherwise, the balance of getting better weapons as the story progresses breaks down.Thanks for the mod!
I'm glad you liked the mod.
If your preference is a more gradual progress, just don't capture Ernie Island outpost, instead head for the mainland after you finish the village.
As long as you refrain from taking any outpost you'll only face Legion enemies, as such the loot will be low level, at best you could get some M24 or Famas from them.
Alternatively, if you "Allow" the enemy to recapture the outposts, the mod will cease to generate any elite squads, only occasional diamond case squad.
The mod is designed this way to allow for maximum flexibility regarding the quest line, as such:
- If you need to recruit Larry, capture Camp Savane (better having the Metaviron from Lalee), then simply withdraw and let the enemy recapture it, if you so choose.
- A similar approach will work for Pierre quest line.
- The player have the choice on new campaign, progression wise, either delay capturing any outpost resulting in low lvl loot, smoother weapon progression, and somewhat more elusive presence in the country, OR, go loud and poke the bear, high risk high reward play style that will provide access to quality gear right from the start of the campaign.
I hope this clarify the mod behavior and answer your question. I guess I should post this on the front page, will do it shortly...
Please let me know should you need more assistance, and thx for the feedback, much appreciated.
Cheers!
As I see, travel speed of enemy squards is increased relatively vanilla version?
I cant leave erny because 3 or 4 battle each day %)
In one of my playthrough I tested a similar approach, digging in and fending attacks Ernie for about a week, or as long as your bank account allows, resulted in quality gear and solid Xp for my mercs, +4-5 ish levels... Ernie is quite easy to defend even when facing both North and South simultaneous attack, provided you start with 10-12 cheap mercs, with 2-3 explosive specialists, and use the workshop for a steady HE underslug grenades production. Whenever you want/need to break out, just head out for the mainland.
From what you described I am guessing you got a streak of spawns very close to Ernie. That is not a rule, next day the spawns may occur upriver or far North allowing enough time to break out for the mainland.
Once on the mainland, be mindful, you can "Deceive" the AI to hunt you in a location of your choice, by orchestrating multiple attacks... The spawns will head up for A.I.M. "Last Known Location"... This is intended feature in order to enable the player more meaningful strategic decisions.
Hope this helps and answers your question, please let me know should you need further assistance.
Cheers!
I hope we can teamup and make JA3 better in a near future. Currently, we are updating our Tactical Enemy mod to a new level, so keep in touch and hope if possible someday you can join us soon!
Cheers m8 :))
I'm very glad reading your message, kind Sirs... For a moment I was starting to feel like a dinosaur, unable to understand the "Modern Audience" LOL.
I welcome the idea of teaming up, please DM me your preferred discord details, I'm looking forward to meet you.
Also, I'm not using steam, as such please feel free to upload and manage this mod over there if you would like to do so.
Thx for the feedback and kind words,
Cheers!
Indeed this mod is very essential now cheers lots of fun!
I wonder... did you actually tested and played it, or are you simply making cabotin reflections on the screenshots?...
Are you aware of the capital rule of JA legacy - The harder it is, the easier it gets...
For AI, there are a number of mods out there, personally I'm using Tactical Enemy, and yes it is working just fine... You'll have stealth/camo enemies ambushing and snipers dispatching your mercs in one shot... Is challenging when facing 60+enemies, and battles may last well into 30+ turns...
JA3 have/introduce a number of interesting mechanics, but in vanilla you barely have the opportunity to use them... you need a steady flow of enemies to experience them...
The purpose of this mod is to correct that... to create the opportunity, and need, to employ all means at your disposal and bring back the strategy in the game. To put it in perspective, Grand Chien is not a sight seeing stroll anymore... now it will look more as a careful, aimed and planned operation... And also as a nation wide hunt for cheeky A.I.M. interference into GC internal affairs :)
Difficulty wise you can simply adjust it as you are comfortable with, on default settings it barely add any significant challenge to vanilla.
This is a first issue, I'll keep updating and further adjust it based on feedback and testing, possibly adding more nuanced strategic events...
Should you would like to help, please test it and share your feedback... and suggestions.
Cheers!