Naval Arms Race - mod overhaul

[the Baron]

NAR for UAD 1.7 is in the shipyard for the moment, please come back later

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdVLPQgUSB4&t=s
Mod featured in the Stealth17 gaming channel.

Introduction

Naval Arms Race, or simple "N.A.R.", is a mod overhaul for U.A.D. that reworks several game mechanics with focus in historical accuracy. Adds new nations, ships and rework many others. Other gameplay improvements are also made where it is possible to provide a more enjoyable experience with more interesting choices for the player.

Special thanks to “Nick Thomadis” from the U.A.D. team, for all the help and the precious information shared, to NathanKell and his brilliant work "TweaksAndFixes" that gave me the tools I needed to expand what it is possible to do, and to all the players that shared feedback. It helped me a lot, some with interesting suggestions, others by reporting bug fixing issues.


Summary of the most important changes:

I - New major powers

• Kingdom of Greece - The David vs Goliath experience. Small army, small economy. 1910 campaign starts at war against the Ottoman empire.1940 campaign starts at war against Italy. DDs & TBs from Britain, Cruisers from Italy, BCs from Germany, BBs from France and USA. Small italian guns, medium french guns, big american guns. (recommended only for hardcore players)
  
• Portuguese empire - Small army, small economy with many provinces around the world to protect. Starts with a small shipyard. Ships and guns from Britain (recommended only for veteran players)
  
• Netherlands - Mix german/austrian hulls and guns. No super ships +60k tons because of shallow waters in home ports. Important colony in far east needs protection.
  
• Ottoman empire - Mix german/british hulls & guns
  
• Argentina - American capital ships in general, with some from Germany, France and Italy. Italian heavy cruisers and british light cruisers. Destroyers from Britain, France and Germany. Guns a mix from Italy, USA, German and Britain. Starts with only one port.
  
• Brazilian Republic - Full british with some late era american DDs on the mix.
  
• Chile - Capital ships: French pre dreadnoughts until 1900, after mainly British BB/BC with some german/american in the mix. Remaining classes mainly british with some Italy and germany on the mix in late era. Guns british, german and french.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3325565681
Added historical flags; ships names; Admirals names; diplomatic relations; historical government changes; AI personalities; nations introduction text for all years.

Note: For the players that don't like to see the reich flag in game you can simple remove it by deleting the germany line inside the flags.csv file.

II - Guns

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3231687610
Complete rework of all guns in game penetration values with data from real guns used as a reference from a ballistics software. Note: In N.A.R. 1-inch of penetration equals to 1-inch wrought iron armor.

All guns models in game manually edited (around 3500 guns!!). Reworked the guns for all nations to be a smooth transition, between gun models and Mk variants using historical guns as a reference. Many guns had their size tweaked and changed place to improve the nations historical design language.

More than 135 historical guns reload times researched and used as a reference for the different eras and guns marks.

Barrel length mechanic reworked from the ground. Now increasing barrel size will no longer lower the deck pen, but will also not be OP as in stock game. Lowering the gun barrel is in fact a viable option to reduce the “immune zone” from the enemy ships. This is based on my historical guns research comparing different barrels using the same shell.

Gun's accuracy formula changed. In general, the bigger the gun, the more accurate will be, specially at long ranges. Around 1x – 1.5x to what was possible in real life based on some battle and trial reports. There is also an arcade version (x2 the hit probability) for the players that enjoy that kind of experience.

Fantasy quad guns removed from the game. Only Britain, France and USA will have access to big caliber quad guns. Note: Italy had some quad guns studies, but I don’t have an exclusive gun model for them ingame.

III – Components

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3232234474
All armor values and descriptions reworked with new options added to better represent the different types of armor used in the time period, their properties, and to give the player more interesting options. Note: In UAD, the armor scaling effect doesn't exist so it is not possible to make, as an example, the American Class "A" armor the best in the world for cruisers but only average for battleships. Some modifiers were added to better represent this in game.

Guns propellants and bursting charges reworked with new, historical options, that will give the player more options to choose.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3231487638

All weight modifiers removed from the armor components. Where it is possible to have some minor differences between different types of armor, in reality the differences are so small that aren't worth it to mention in the game. With this change, the player will find it impossible to add absurd levels of armor to ships as in the stock game, forcing to use more historical accurate levels of armor in the ships, however because of the guns penetration rework, these values should be more than enough if you stay inside the “immune zone”.

Sonar torpedo spotting modifiers removed since it is unrealistic for a sonar to detect torpedoes in the water with the ship at flank speed coming from the stern.

Sonar is now only applied to CL and DD classes.

Added scout plane mechanic. This will add recon value, bonus to the long accuracy and add aerial depth charges to use against subs. Radar long range accuracy values rebalanced because of this to reflect the real value of these systems in the battlefield. Credits goes to “M3rky1” for finding the solution.

IV – Shells & Ballistics

Lighter shells have better accuracy at low ranges due to higher muzzle velocity, trajectory flattening and reduced time to target, where heavy shells have better range and are more accurate at long ranges due to better ballistic coefficient, that is a measure of how well a projectile retains its velocity and resists drag as it travels through the air. Note: In NAR , the long range accuracy effect starts at 5.5 km and gets the maximum effect at 40 km. This offers new tactical options for the Admiral to consider when designing the ships.

Wind resistance modifiers added to all shells. The lighter the shell, the bigger the effect, specially on stormy weather.

Penetration values difference from shell weight modifiers increased to 28%. This was by reading and comparing the data from the 16" on the Nelson class (light shells) with the 16" on the Iowa class (super heavy shells). There is around 41% difference, but there is also a generation gap in gun technology.

Heavier shells are more likely to penetrate surfaces rather than bouncing off, due to their greater mass and momentum.

Added guns weight and rotation modifiers for the shell weight components. The loading mechanism weight is taking into account the shell weight. This will have a small impact on the gun's overall weight and turret rotation.

New shell added, SAPC.

SAPBC penetration improved.

SAP and all HE shells damage was improved to better represent the difference in weight from the bursting charges.

HCHE, CNF and CP fuse are now more sensitive since they were designed to work against light armored ships.

Min angle and max angle of ricochet for all shells reworked, taking into account the shell shape or the AP cap design, if present, for ricochet chance calculations:

• APBC & SAPBC The addition of a ballistic cap that allows the cap underneath to have a less aerodynamic shape often with sharp edges, which allows it to grip into armour even at high impact angles.
  
• APC shells have a unique hard cap design that favors penetration at low angles, but is very poor at steep angles.
  
• SAPC Use a soft cap to spread the radial shock outward from the impact along the radius of the now flattened soft cap, keeping the shock from travelling into the body of the shell itself. Soft caps, however, do not function at high impact angles.

V – Ship design

Ships stability reworked, being a lot easier to get stable ships. As an indirect effect the AI also benefits a lot from this, so expect to fight more capable ships.

Many modifiers rebalanced to better simulate real ship weights: fuel; belt armor; deck armor; barbettes; conning tower; crew numbers; crew quarters; torpedo protection; side turret armor; turret top armor; secondaries armor; casemate guns weight.

Added 4" and 5" casemates for the protected cruisers. Credits goes to "clavernever" for finding the solution. Note: Not all hulls support this. (Torpedo cruiser hull as an example)

Increased the gun caliber cap for all semi armored cruiser to 9"

Depth charges removed from CA class.

Main triple guns barrels removed from the destroyers since they were never used.

Added mines, radio, rangefinder, sonar, depthcharge, radar, shaft, rudder, steering and antiflooding techs to TBs.

Flooding mechanics reworked so the difference between bulkheads used is now smaller.

Hull effects reworked:

• The wider the beam, the shorter the ship turning radius.
  
• The greater the ship draft, the bigger is the surface area that needs to push the water, increasing the ship turning radius.
  
• The deeper a vessel lies in the water, the more sluggish will be her response to the helm.
  
• The deeper a vessel lies in the water, the more gentle will be the rolling in bad weather, mitigating the issues with the guns accuracy.
  
• Changes in beam and draught will have lower impact in accuracy to balance the AI ship designs and to prevent the wide ships designs meta.

Night vision stat enabled. This is only experiemental, and it is for running test to see if it is working or not. The player will find this new stat in the towers.

VI – Battle

Gun and torpedo damage reworked. The smaller the ship type more devastating will be the damage.

Torpedo evade range at 1500m (13500m in stock game). To improve fleets movement and the AI behavior in battle.

Torpedos takes longer to reload to prevent spamming.

Spotting values and accuracy modifiers affected by weather and light conditions reworked.

Smoke option disabled. The most important reason is the fact the AI doesn’t know when to use it, so it is unfair against the AI and ruins the experience. The fact that it is a bubble and that it haves an arcade timer also does not help.

HE fire chance nerfed, however using picric acid and variants is still a viable option.

Ships sections on fire needed to make it sunk buffed from 70% to 80%. Credits goes to "brothermunro" for the tip.

Flash fire, ammo detonation and torpedo ammo detonation damage x2.

VII – AI

Many improvements applied by using Nathan work with my custom values to teach the AI how to make good ships designs. This include:

• A set of armor values per ship class and era and for each ship section.
  
• A new speed logic to force the AI to build ships with reasonable speeds. Not slow or not wasting important hull tonnage by going above the hull limit.
  
• Maximum bulkheads always.
  
• A new caliber limit per hull to help the AI to make good ship designs quicker.

Lowered the chance of seeing a gun firing arc blocked by other gun.

Battle AI logic reworked to have complete freedom of movements. Can chase, rush the player for torpedo runs, create battle lines, maintain the distance, will try to retreat from battle if the odds are not favorable. Badly damaged AI divisions will try to disengage from battle. Divisions roles ranges edited to help the AI to create a coherent battle group and still have some freedom of movements.

Lowered the optimal distance used by the AI to promote more fighting at medium and close ranges.

The AI ammo logic improved to know better when to use HE or AP. This affect both the player and the AI, unless the player gives strict orders to use one specific ammo.

VIII – Campaign

Economy reworked to prevent or at least minimized the snowballing effect in later years and to make decisions about spending more important. The impact in the GDP for a country at war is now less impactful which should help the AI nations to stay at war.

Shipyard building program is now more important in the long run. The player can still skip many years without upgrading, but if he wants to build big ships in the future it should consider upgrading sooner.

The GDP and army modifiers differences from the type of government are smaller now.

Scrapping threshold increased to 200k from the previous 50k to help the AI to maintain a decent fleet size.

Crew training values were rebalanced. The differences are now more reasonable.

TBs class will not become obsolete.

Improved AI building program for all nations.

Lowered the initial starting fleets distances in battle. It should be now quicker to initiate combat, or quicker to catch the AI if it is running away from battle.

7000 tons CA cruisers and 4500 tons CL cruisers available to be built from the start. (1890)

Lowered weight penalty for non prioritized researches and improved the research speed for old techs to give the player more freedom and enjoyable experience with the tech tree.

Ship movement at sea x2.5 in comparison to stock game.

Withdraw and delay factor according to average speed of ships increased to 100%.

Denial zones smaller in size to allow more fredom of movement in chokepoints. Only powerful task forces should be able to block straits.

The defense modifier changed for many provinces. It will take into consideration, the terrain, the weather, tropical diseases, and the people and their willing to fight.

New scrap behavior code by Nathan with my custom values. W.I.P.

Changes to subs and mines W.I.P:

• Minefield size nerfed around the ports and it takes longer to reach the maximum size.
  
• Vastly increased the mine sweeper capability.
  
• Decrease the chance to have an event about ships being damaged by mines.
  
• Increased the mine damage. It is possible to see ships being sunk by mines in rare
  
• Implemented Nathan code that allows subs to travel around the world.occasions.

IX – Hulls & parts

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3231690054
New modern torpedo boats for all nations. (unlocked in 1920)
All modern destroyers hulls package were reworked to offer a unique design language for most nations.
Many new hulls added to offer the possibility to build historical ships or design proposals:

• "Northampton" and "Portland" classes cruiser. American heavy cruiser II hull.
  
• Replaced the Russian BB I hull for one that resembles more to what the Russians were building around 1890. "Navarin"; "Tri Sviatitelia" and "Sissoi Veliky" classes.
  
• Added Russian pre-dreadnought "Poltava". Battleship II hull.
  
• Replaced the Spanish battleship I hull for another that resembles more the "Pelayo".
  
• "Recon Cruiser" from plan Z added to the Germans.
  
• German light cruiser IV changed to better represent the Magdeburg; Karlsruhe; Graudenz; Pillau and Wiesbaden classes.
  
• German light cruiser VI added to represent the Emdem, Königsberg and the Leipzig classes.
  
• French armored cruiser V, the "Edgar Quinet" class.
  
• Barbettes added to the french experimental dreadnought hull so it is possible to design the "Coubet" and the "Bretagne" batteships.
  
• Japanese experimental large cruiser hull reworked to resemble more the "B-65" design project.
  
• British dreadnought II hull reworked to resemble more the "Colossus" and the "Neptune" classes.
  
• British dreadnought III hull changed to look more with the "Orion" and "KGV" (1911) classes.
  
• British dreadnought IV package reworked to resemble more the "Iron Duke" and "Queen Elizabeth" classes.
  
• British dreadnought V package, reworked to resemble more the "Revenge" class.

Many funnels, towers and other parts created, stats edited and used to create the new ships or improved already in game hull to get a better design language, historical accurate if possible. Impossible for me to list all the thousands changes I made without the reader to fall asleep. :D

Installation:

1) Set the game language to be in english or german (unofficial, courtesy from Patriot-d-H)


2)Backup if you wish but move or delete this files from this location: C:\users\(user)\Appdata\LocalLow\Game Labs\Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts

custom_battle_data.bin

mission_data.bin

save_x.bin

The reason behind this, is the many changes to the game files will make all your designs impossible to work with the mod.


3) Go here and follow the instructions if you still don't have the melon loader installed or the most recent version of TweaksAndFixes.Dll. Don't forget to add a 👍 in the page to show your support to Nathan brilliant work.
https://forum.game-labs.net/topic/44003-1605-code-tweaks-and-fixes-v380-mark-6-guns-keep-old-mark-gunstorps-on-refit-map-modding-better-shared-design-handling-custom-flags-redone-scrapping-behavior-fixed-sub-range-checks-and-more/

4) Download all NAR mod files:

NOT AVAILABLE AT THE MOMENT

Extract the downloaded file using unrar or another similar program.

Move the content inside from the folder extracted to the "Mods" location created when installing the MelonLoader.

It should be here: C:\...\Steam\steamapps\common\Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts\Mods


And you are ready! ;)

5) Optional

Inside the Mods folder there is the option to change the guns accuracy. By default is using the realistic option, but if you want to switch to arcade just open the folder "A-arcade accuracy-choose one" copy the guns file and place them in the mods folder. Click yes to replace.

*Unless you are a masochist, naval history nerd, that understands how the game different mechanics works, DO NOT use the realistic accuracy version. You are not going to like it.

VERY IMPORTANT:

I don't know when I am going to update the mod again, so to avoid any issues, block the auto updates from steam:

Set game to update when start game. Do this in game setting(properties)-> update.
Don't start game by steam or steam shortcut. Make a shortcut on desktop from the main game .exe in this location: "....\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts\Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts.exe"
Start a game from this shortcut. Game will run without update.

Sources

• A Brief History of Naval Armour - by Drachinifel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoEFjl0buiM
  
• Range-finding and Fire Control - by Drachinifel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbXyAzGtIX8&t=2208s
  
• Hull Form Design - by Drachinifel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkRJxgYgTVA
  
• Table of Mettallurgical properties of Naval Armour and construction materials - by Nathan Okun. http://www.navweaps.com/index_nathan/metalprpsept2009.php
  
• Introduction to the development of Warship Armour. https://www.naval-history.net/WW0Book-USN-Armour1937.htm
  
• Naval Weapons of the World. http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/index_weapons.php
  
• Evolution of Battleship Gunnery in the U.S. Navy, 1920-1945 - by William J.Jurens http://www.navweaps.com/index_inro/INRO_BB-Gunnery.php
  
• Report on naval gunnery at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba https://theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Research/Digital-Library/Record/ImageViewer?libID=o283734&imageNo=1
  
• USA 16"/50 Mark7 naval gunnery report on trials http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_16-50_mk7.php#Accuracy_During_World_War_II
  
• Bismarck weights list https://www.kbismarck.com/bsweights.html
  
• Guns reload research https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LjZPDcRo6GsqRVEMfHsM5426_d3jYm5C/view
  
• Recon Cruiser https://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ships/destroyer/spahkreuzer/index.html

New Horizons III reshade

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3231693990
Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13_-C2R1V8l2_kuzFN0n-zpqt69zZ4qHb?usp=drive_link

Features:

• RTX Global illumination.
  
• 3 color scheme for the player to choose. All featuring a RTX version and a non RTX for a minimal fps loss (1 fps). A total 6 options.
  
• Many tweaks to contrast, exposure, sharpness and colors.

Installation:

• Download "New Horizons III" folder.
  
• Unpack, and place the content inside the folder in this location: c:\...Steam\steamapps\common\Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts
  
• To remove the mod, just delete the files.

Shortcut keys in game:

• "Home" -open/close reshade panel
  
• "End" -enable/disable the effects.

To change the color scheme:

• Press "Home" to open the panel
  
• Usethe "arrows" to change the preset you want to use.

Important

Do not report any bug to the devs if you are using this mod. They are not responsible for the changes I made to the game.

This mod is a work of passion and dedication, that took me thousands of hours and many months to be completed. If interested in using parts of the mod in your work, please ask permission and give me the credits.

It is still being developed, but most things that I wanted to do are already in the mod. If interested, please use the link below and read careful the instructions. Note, that it is very rare for me to come to the steam forums so if interested in sharing feedback or ideas please post them on the GL forum.


Link:

https://forum.game-labs.net/topic/40928-naval-arms-race-mod-overhaul-beta-v109-shells-ballistics-rework-update-for-uad-v1509-optx4/

Sorry for my poor English, it is not my native language.

Happy hunting,

the Baron.

[Tactical Wargamer (Richard)]

OMG!!!! Fantastic work!

[HB]

Will it work on 1.5.X.X?

[MSgt Peterson]

Does it add any What If hulls?

[the Baron]

Originally posted by HB:

Will it work on 1.5.X.X?

When you open the link, above you will always see the current mod version and to what UAD version is compatible.

"Naval Arms Race" mod overhaul. BETA v10.6 - "Shells & Ballistics rework" update - for UAD v1.5.0.9 Optx3

Also if interested in using the mod, please read the installation procedure careful. I added instructions how to block steam updates to avoid any possible issues.

Originally posted by MSgt Peterson:

Does it add any What If hulls?

The "recon cruiser" for the german tech tree, based on plan Z and the Japanese large cruiser B-65 design project.

[NoG]

Originally posted by the Baron:

Originally posted by HB:

Will it work on 1.5.X.X?

When you open the link, above you will always see the current mod version and to what UAD version is compatible.

"Naval Arms Race" mod overhaul. BETA v10.6 - "Shells & Ballistics rework" update - for UAD v1.5.0.9 Optx3

Also if interested in using the mod, please read the installation procedure careful. I added instructions how to block steam updates to avoid any possible issues.

Originally posted by MSgt Peterson:

Does it add any What If hulls?

The "recon cruiser" for the german tech tree, based on plan Z and the Japanese large cruiser B-65 design project.

Do you have any other screen shots with the mod that change change the game.

[the Baron]

Originally posted by NoG:

Do you have any other screen shots with the mod that change change the game.

https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198375513856/screenshot/2488877813556554524/

I didn't post more in the mod descriptions because the introduction is already too long, but here you can see some of the new armor components, the scout plane equipment, the good weight offset values.

The difference in the colors is from the reshade that I am using. There is also a link in the mod description for anyone interested.

[the Baron]

BETA v10.9 - "Shells & Ballistics rework" update - N.A.R. changelog:

• AI building program changed. Multiplied by x2 or more, in some cases, the chance of building BBs and BCs for all nations. I was noticing what should be powerful navies with few capital ships. Now most likely it should be much better. There is still the possibility of seeing a nation without BBs, but that is most likely the AI that failed to get a ship design when starting the campaign. In that case, I suspect the AI will start a building program to fix that issue in the first years. Note: I also noticed a limit for subs the AI gets when starting a campaign. Maybe a coincidence, or maybe it was limited by the devs. As a result, I think it is not possible to see Germany controlled by the AI with many subs.
  
• Initial shipyard size for later years increase. This should help the AI to get capital ships designs.
  
• I think I found the solution for convoys vs subs, and it should be using escorts more often if available in the area. I also add the chance if a big convoy is being attacked by subs for a CA, BC or BB to be present.
  
• Mine laying subs technology removed from the tech tree.
  
• Wolfpack subs progression moved to later years.
  
• Some of the more powerful subs unlocked also moved to later years.
  
• English file updated with the changes to subs.
  
• Auto resolve parameters updated. It is now 10 armor, 5 firepower, 1 speed, 0 crew, 0 ammo. In general, I like the results more I got from these values, but I can't promise anyone that will work the way you want all the time.

To get all the benefits, a new start is recommended.



Manor Lords is coming tomorrow, so I am now retired for the next weeks. 😁

[NoG]

Originally posted by the Baron:

Originally posted by NoG:

Do you have any other screen shots with the mod that change change the game.

https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198375513856/screenshot/2488877813556554524/

I didn't post more in the mod descriptions because the introduction is already too long, but here you can see some of the new armor components, the scout plane equipment, the good weight offset values.

The difference in the colors is from the reshade that I am using. There is also a link in the mod description for anyone interested.

I should have been more specific, I meant to ask if you have any other pictures of the physical ship parts/ hulls. Thanks for the editor image though, its interesting to see the new addons in the game. I also noticed the exposed secondary guns, is there an option to have secondary guns despite mark or ship type?

[the Baron]

Originally posted by NoG:

I should have been more specific, I meant to ask if you have any other pictures of the physical ship parts/ hulls. Thanks for the editor image though, its interesting to see the new addons in the game. I also noticed the exposed secondary guns, is there an option to have secondary guns despite mark or ship type?

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3232475347
Japanese project B-65 for a battlecruiser that was never build. Mini Yamato looks.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3232475427
British Tribal class.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3232476021
Russia pre-dreadnought "Poltava". BB II hull in NAR.

Only a few examples.

What is possible to do with the game files is to create new hull packages or edited the current already in game with parts from other ships to be more historical accurate as an example and edit component size and stats.

It is possible to change the gun model, add secondaries for ship types, change the gun caliber and barrel length, change the maximum gun caliber per ship type or individual hull. I did all that already for all guns in game. You will notice many more open turrets for early years or in some cases in late years if historical accurate like the 4" in British Tribal class. The barrel length was also standardized between all models, using historical guns as a reference.
So no more looking at the same gun model, and one having X/46 barrel length and the other being X/53 only because they are different calibers, or one being a quad version. Now as an example, if the gun model is based on the Bismarck 15" guns then all guns will have X/52 barrel length as it is historical accurate. The player can then ofc tweak the size.

I also tried to keep the guns models exclusive as possible per nation, following the historical examples I have.

Same thing about secondaries. I added secondaries to the destroyers since it was needed to have quad bofors, but this allowed to limit the main guns only to two barrels per turret since there was never a destroyer with triple guns per turret if I am not mistaken.

[NoG]

Originally posted by the Baron:

Originally posted by NoG:

I should have been more specific, I meant to ask if you have any other pictures of the physical ship parts/ hulls. Thanks for the editor image though, its interesting to see the new addons in the game. I also noticed the exposed secondary guns, is there an option to have secondary guns despite mark or ship type?

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3232475347
Japanese project B-65 for a battlecruiser that was never build. Mini Yamato looks.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3232475427
British Tribal class.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3232476021
Russia pre-dreadnought "Poltava". BB II hull in NAR.

Only a few examples.

What is possible to do with the game files is to create new hull packages or edited the current already in game with parts from other ships to be more historical accurate as an example and edit component size and stats.

It is possible to change the gun model, add secondaries for ship types, change the gun caliber and barrel length, change the maximum gun caliber per ship type or individual hull. I did all that already for all guns in game. You will notice many more open turrets for early years or in some cases in late years if historical accurate like the 4" in British Tribal class. The barrel length was also standardized between all models, using historical guns as a reference.
So no more looking at the same gun model, and one having X/46 barrel length and the other being X/53 only because they are different calibers, or one being a quad version. Now as an example, if the gun model is based on the Bismarck 15" guns then all guns will have X/52 barrel length as it is historical accurate. The player can then ofc tweak the size.

I also tried to keep the guns models exclusive as possible per nation, following the historical examples I have.

Same thing about secondaries. I added secondaries to the destroyers since it was needed to have quad bofors, but this allowed to limit the main guns only to two barrels per turret since there was never a destroyer with triple guns per turret if I am not mistaken.

Thank you for these, I'm currently in a campaign so I will probably finish this then change version to 1.5 to download this. Seeing that the mod tweaks the campaign there should be no economy issue.

Secondaries on a destroyer is a great idea, I always thought it was weird that a 2 inch gun would cause changes to the superstructure when the gun modeled was clearly deck mounted lol.

[HB]

Not trying to make a request, just a consideration: I understand that ML subs are a very crude representation in vanilla UAD -- and that in real life they were not an effective weapon -- but there is no other way to simulate open sea minefields in game -- and such minefields were, on the contrary, a significant defensive and offensive weapon both in WWI and in WWII. So I somewhat regret the loss of minelayer subs in the mod. Having surface minelayers not limited to port defense would be splendid.

[the Baron]

BETA v10.9.2 - "Shells & Ballistics rework" update - N.A.R. changelog:

• Updated to UAD 1.5.1.0 Opt
  
• Shell velocity, accuracy, accuracy long modifiers and wind modifiers removed from HE and AP shells because they were causing an impact to the other shells stats. HE ««»» AP. An engine limitation. Shell weight modifiers are not affected by this change.
  
• CPC and CPBC penetration, HE damage and HE fire chance stats changed to close the gap to SAP performance. There is a linear progression now from incendiary shell all the way to APBC.
  
• SAPBC and APC range stats change taking into consideration the fact that one is lighter but have a ballistic cap and the other is heavier but have an AP cap design that adds too much drag.

VERY IMPORTANT:
I don't know when I am going to update the mod again, so to avoid any issues, block the auto updates from steam:

Set game to update when start game. Do this in game setting(properties)-> update.
Don't start game by steam or steam shortcut. Make a shortcut on desktop from the main game .exe in this location: "....\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts\Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts.exe"
Start a game from this shortcut. Game will run without update.

----- Important -----
Do not report any bug to the devs if you are using this mod. They are not responsible for the changes I made to the game.

[the Baron]

Originally posted by HB:

Not trying to make a request, just a consideration: I understand that ML subs are a very crude representation in vanilla UAD -- and that in real life they were not an effective weapon -- but there is no other way to simulate open sea minefields in game -- and such minefields were, on the contrary, a significant defensive and offensive weapon both in WWI and in WWII. So I somewhat regret the loss of minelayer subs in the mod. Having surface minelayers not limited to port defense would be splendid.

This is a problem. The issue here is how mines works in UAD. You get an event in the beginning of the turn where you see the ships that took damaged from mines. The issue is now you are not going to see 1 or maybe 2 ships that took damaged. Most likely you are going to see the entire enemy fleet damaged. It is completely unrealistic how they work in game and there is no way for me to fix this issue. This was reported many times already.

I made some changes to make this events more rare to happen, but I can't do anymore to make them more realistic.

Minelaying subs is a big problem because players can simple ignore any encounter battle and murder the AI only with mines. It is possible to win any war by only using minelaying subs in vanilla game. The AI doesn't understand how broken this unit is and will not use them as an exploit, so it is completely unfair.

So I have an unrealistic mechanic and a complete broken OP unit in game. A complete nightmare to balance.

[the Baron]

BETA v10.9.3 - "Shells & Ballistics rework" update - N.A.R. changelog:

• Updated to UAD 1.5.1.1 Opt
  
• Guns ballistics overhauled to work with new game mechanics changes implemented by the devs
  
• Fixed a penetration value from the 15" as reported by @gsc 👍

[the Baron]

BETA v11 - N.A.R. changelog:

Updated to UAD 1.5.1.3

• Changed all the global modifiers related to subs and battle autoresolve. It will use STOCK game values. STOCK game experience. I explain in details below why.*
  
• Lowered around 50% the transport's losses per turn. Some players reported to me that it was too high and impossible to manage.
  
• Fixed an issue with the 16" german mk4 & mk5 size as reported by @HMS Implosive
  
• All German big caliber guns, from 17" to 20", will use the standard 3D model now instead of the comical huge square. This also add the benefit for the player and the AI to make it easier to place them on the main and secondary towers.
  
• I did some changes to make it more likely to see escorts in convoys missions against subs.
  
• I added some escorts to ambush missions, since it is a little silly to see a lonely BB travelling without protection. Report to me if it works.
  
• Fixed the issue with Japanese 20" and late Russian 5" scaling as reported by @HMS Implosive & @Fangoriously

Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ac6FZM6KTnY3Rhm5GRsEO6Zs6V8Jfasf?usp=drive_link

*ABOUT SUBS AND AUTORESOLVE*

I finally found out the reason why some players were complaining that subs were impossible to detect and sink. The reason is the recon value. It will increase exponentially the ASW value in late era ships, and was the experience in fighting subs around 1940 that I used to balance them. Because of this, it was almost impossible for ships in early years to fight subs. So now if you find subs incredible weak around 1940, this is the reason. If you still find subs incredible hard to sink around 1910-1920, send a message to the devs. There is an incredible ASW value difference from ships around 1910 to 1940 that makes a nightmare to balance them, and I have no stomach at this moment to make it work. I think the only possible solution is to lower all the recon values (which I already did a little in this version) and to bump ASW from depth charges and sonar in early years so that the gap is smaller and only then try to find a way to balance the subs to make them interesting all years without feeling overpower. It is very frustrating for me trying to find a way to make this work well so for now, stock game values, stock game experience.

About the auto resolve. I still noticed some strange results, and I can't force to give reasonable results all the time. So I give up. I prefer to use stock values and if the player sees anything that don't like, go talk with the devs and not me.



IMPORTANT: In two weeks, I will go to make a long trip for the next 3 months, so don't expect me to be available every time there is an update from the devs to update the mod. I strongly suggest for anyone interested in using the mod to block steam updates.

Set game to update when start game. Do this in game setting(properties)-> update.
Don't start game by steam or steam shortcut. Make a shortcut on desktop from the main game .exe in this location: "....\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts\Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts.exe"
Start a game from this shortcut. Game will run without update.

IMPORTANT:
Do not report any bug to the devs if you are using this mod. They are not responsible for the changes I made to the game.