Mod Ideas for Sieges and Food Supply

TheLordOfAnarchy

Okay, so I've been playing Attila for a while now and while I think it's absolutely amazing by virtue of being the most complex and satisfying Total War I've played (Empire to Warhammer), there are a few issues I hope someone will fix with mods.

1. City walls in battle should permit two lines facing outwards -

If it already exists, I have NO idea how to do it, but basically what I mean is that in sieges, the defenders should have an option of deploying two units of troops on one stretch facing the same direction.

See, when we deploy a unit on the wall on the outer edge, they face outside the city but the guys we deploy on the inner edge face inside. It makes sense in a way because one could deploy archers on the high ground to shoot into the backs of enemies who have broken through the gates, but I also want to be able to deploy a wall of swords/spears facing the siege towers while also allowing my archers to shoot outwards from behind them. Even if not archers, I would like if I can keep a backup (usually elite) unit of swords behind the first line so that they can take over when the going gets tough. Currently they get hit in the rear if one forgets about them.

Obviously it will have to be changeable. As an attacker I usually rush my archers onto the walls after taking them so that I can use the height to soften targets inside the city, which needs them to be facing inwards. So I guess the direction of dragging (the way it is on the ground) can be retained here as well.

2. Food Supply Mod -

So, while there are loads of fertility mods out there, most most nullify the mechanism. The one I use (Fertility-Increasing Sanitation Buildings) is pretty great, but another mechanic can be added to the game: Food Supply. What I mean is that the "Road Development" stat should also affect inter-province food trade and transport. As a Province's roads develop, it should be able to import food from neighbouring "Source" Provinces which have food surpluses.

The calculation for amount of food transported could be according to the following:

(Assumptions - Maximum Road Development is 200. We will use 120 as a reasonable standard for no penalties.)

Food Supplied = Balance Factor x Surplus in Source Province x [(Average of Road Development across both provinces and all trade route provinces in between)/120],
where "Balance Factor" is a multiplicative adjustment to avoid this from become too OP or UP. Depends on the modder to keep the game fun and challenging.

Also, Maximum Food Supplied = Food Shortage in Province
Hence, Surplus in Source Province need not necessarily be the total Surplus in the Province. The amount consumed in the transportation can be deducted from the total Surplus of the Faction (since the bonuses afforded are negligible anyway).

Spoilage Penalties -
I don't know if there's a "Length of Trade Route" stat in the game, so we can use this instead:
Total Spoilage = Sum of all Spoilage Factors for each Province between Source and Shortage Provinces,
Where "Spoilage Factor" depends on the nature of the Provinces in between. It's basically the percentage of food that will get ruined while passing through the Province (More Spoilage for deserts, less for cold regions or regions with salt supply).
Food Supplied After Spoilage = (1- Total Spoilage) x Food Supplied

Note that there is no Spoilage for neighbouring Provinces.

Raiding Penalties -
Food Supplied After Raiding = (1 - Raiding Factor) x Food Supplied,
where "Raiding Factor" is the percentage of the total gold of the province gained by the raiding army. Even trade route raiding mechanics will have to be applied in case they're also raiding the trade route. Also, raiding armies will only get this much food on raiding, not the flat value they used to.

Food Shipping -
For "Colonies" or Regions that are overseas, the Food Supplied is affected by Piracy instead of Road Development. It could be treated as a Trade Route and Supply loss can be calculated accordingly. Of course, if the Surplus Province isn't the one at the port, the original formula will have to be applied for all overland sections.

Food Trading -
After adding an exchange rate for food depending on the receiving Faction's Shortage and the overall world Fertility, food can be added to diplomacy as a trade-able resource. Also, setting this up with a Faction will allow you to transport food through their Provinces. A separate tariff can be applied for this privilege independent of trade tariffs.

Notes -
- There will be no food supply to Provinces surrounded by enemy/neutral (non trade) factions. Only neighbouring ally/trade factions Provinces will allow food supply.
- If completely disconnected, allied colonies can also provide food in Provinces where they are adjacent if they have a Surplus Province nearby.
- Blockading Ports with naval food supply routes will completely cut off food supply.
- Regions with no food supply will start sieges with their Garrison already starving unless there's a Granary. I'm not sure if this is already balanced in Vanilla.
- Optimized supply - The routes with the least loss in Surplus will be used for every Province. This includes alternate routes in case of Raiding.



Personal Note: I haven't been able to check for this stuff on the Forums because I have crazy work hours and usually spend my gaming time, well... gaming. So quietly delete this post if there's already one like this.
Also, I wish I had the time or the technical know-how to make these myself, but I'm hoping there's a modder out there willing to take it up. Also, I hope someone has the patience to read the whole thing!