[MOD] Variety and Rebalance Overhaul (VRO) 4.x

[VPanda]

So far the balance in my game looks really good, Xenon push everywhere, AI hold the ground with heavy casualties, some stations destroyed, but FE economy manages to keep the reinforcement coming. I'm a bit busy fighting everywhere, but I still have Xenon supply script running + FOCW with maxed out Xenon so I have room for tweaking a bit the numbers if it gets out of control when I settle down.

Hats off !

Hello, can you please specify all the mods you use?
And FOCW settings.
Thx.
Because my xenon are still losing war and I am using same modset FOCW, supply lines, FE, VRO

[Scoob]

Any known issues with the new 3.2 Beta update and VRO? I'm running separate instances, so my Modded game is still on 3.1 HF1 for the time being.

Scoob.

[Blueshift]

So far the balance in my game looks really good, Xenon push everywhere, AI hold the ground with heavy casualties, some stations destroyed, but FE economy manages to keep the reinforcement coming. I'm a bit busy fighting everywhere, but I still have Xenon supply script running + FOCW with maxed out Xenon so I have room for tweaking a bit the numbers if it gets out of control when I settle down.

Hats off !

Hello, can you please specify all the mods you use?
And FOCW settings.
Thx.
Because my xenon are still losing war and I am using same modset FOCW, supply lines, FE, VRO

VRO
All 4 FE modules
FOCW with Xenminers=1 Xenfighters=3 Xencapital=3 Xencardefend=1 Xencarattack=1, all other settings = 0
X4XenonFill supply script (shared by Phiolin on this thread), customed by me with crazy op values (if ware < 20% then give them 80%)
Some trading mods like TT and Mules and other QoL mods which shouldn't have any influence here
That's it, no DeadAir, no ship mod, no ROR...
3.1 no beta

Maybe the ressource cheat script helped a lot, giving them the basis for fast recovery ? The Xenon don't rely on their supply ships anymore in my game, so if they still do in yours, I guess it makes a huge difference. Did you scout their Shipyards to check their ressources ?

I have to say I played maybe 4 or 5 hours since the update, mostly fighting, without SETA. So far it's looking good but I have to do further testing in the long run. I'll keep them a couple hours on life support, hoping they rebuild a lot of freighters in the meantime, then I'll turn the supply script off. As long as they manage to keep the fight occuring in other factions territory, I'll be useful, so I'll be happy.

[Rastuasi]

Shuulo,

Not sure if this is something your mod has changed, but doing the PHQ plot, in vanilla, you are given the M class frigate of the race you start as. However, when starting split with VRO, the ship the quest provides is random. I've gotten the teladi one 2x, the paranid and argon each 1 time, but never the split one (cobra).

[MutantDwarf]

Shuulo,

Not sure if this is something your mod has changed, but doing the PHQ plot, in vanilla, you are given the M class frigate of the race you start as. However, when starting split with VRO, the ship the quest provides is random. I've gotten the teladi one 2x, the paranid and argon each 1 time, but never the split one (cobra).

In Vanilla you don't get the Split frigate; when I did it I got the Argon one. Didn't realize you could get any of the other race's frigates, though.

[Scoob]

The ship you get depends on where you find that first data leak that triggers the mission. So, if you find it in a TEL sector, you get an Osprey eventually, ARG sector, Cerberus etc.

I've not done it in a Split Sector yet, so I cannot confirm if that was included.

Scoob.

[Rastuasi]

The ship you get depends on where you find that first data leak that triggers the mission. So, if you find it in a TEL sector, you get an Osprey eventually, ARG sector, Cerberus etc.

I've not done it in a Split Sector yet, so I cannot confirm if that was included.

Scoob.

Every single time of the above that I've tested have all been in Fires of Victory. The first thing I do is fly to the closest station, immediately find a scan signal under the dock and grab the quest.

[Scoob]

Every single time of the above that I've tested have all been in Fires of Victory. The first thing I do is fly to the closest station, immediately find a scan signal under the dock and grab the quest.

Looks like Egosoft didn't implement the same system for Split as they did the other Factions then, that's a shame. I got the Paranid one this time, as I deliberately looked for the signal leak in Paranid space. I did Teladi my prior play-through and Argon before that (both pre-split DLC) and got the appropriate ship.

Perhaps it's an oversight on Egosoft's behalf so should be highlighted as a bug?

Scoob.

[maseren]

@shuulo or anyone that might know.

Missiles and torpedoes for fighters and bombers on your carriers, are they worth it? Also, for Shuulo, did you implement anything to change or affect that?> my concern is does the AI know how to use the torpedoes and missiles? or will it shoot them all over the place? how do i get new ones and resupply the ships?? should i just get just big guns on my S and M "bombers"?

reason i ask here is i thought somewhere i read Shuulo may have implemented something that improves this.

On a side note, i welcome the next version that might take things down a notch. Essentially, i went to one of the matrixes to see whats cooking, i saw, not kidding, 4 I's, and 12 Ks... the AI from the PC for some reason have stopped becoming more aggressiv, and i'm running the latest FE mod i think

[Rolgar08]

@shuulo or anyone that might know.

Missiles and torpedoes for fighters and bombers on your carriers, are they worth it?

On my carriers I have groups of 20 spacecrafts and usually use different loadouts for fighters and bombers. Bombers are very effective against capital ships and stations. However, I usually first send in a group of fighters so that the enemy turrets are already engaged and then the bombers.

[maseren]

@shuulo or anyone that might know.

Missiles and torpedoes for fighters and bombers on your carriers, are they worth it?

On my carriers I have groups of 20 spacecrafts and usually use different loadouts for fighters and bombers. Bombers are very effective against capital ships and stations. However, I usually first send in a group of fighters so that the enemy turrets are already engaged and then the bombers.

How difficult is restocking the missiles and torpedoes though? that's my main question. I'm wondering if i'm doing it right, do i need to restock every ship individually??!!

[Rastuasi]

@shuulo or anyone that might know.

Missiles and torpedoes for fighters and bombers on your carriers, are they worth it?

On my carriers I have groups of 20 spacecrafts and usually use different loadouts for fighters and bombers. Bombers are very effective against capital ships and stations. However, I usually first send in a group of fighters so that the enemy turrets are already engaged and then the bombers.

How difficult is restocking the missiles and torpedoes though? that's my main question. I'm wondering if i'm doing it right, do i need to restock every ship individually??!!

What exactly are you trying to do and how? Carriers do not restock their fighters with actual missiles in their bay. They work like an equipment dock, they manufacture the missiles on the spot using missile components and other parts.

[terodil]

Hi, question which may or may not be related to VRO: On my first shiny new Rattlesnake, after a few combats, the HUD icons for 3 out of 4 of my main guns (the icons, not the heat bar) have turned orange and don't seem to turn back to blueish again. I've searched the interwebs with no result, is it something this mod does? What is it supposed to tell me?

[Phiolin]

Your guns have been damaged by enemy fire. It might affect reload rate or damage. Look for the nearest equipment dock or shipyard to repair them.
They can even go red, at which point they will stop working.
It’s not related to VRO.

[terodil]

Your guns have been damaged by enemy fire. It might affect reload rate or damage. Look for the nearest equipment dock or shipyard to repair them.
They can even go red, at which point they will stop working.
It’s not related to VRO.

Thank you! I was puzzled because the ship loadout screen didn't show any damage. Turns out it was a measly 1% damage that caused it to go into WARNING! WARNING! mode. Apologies for cluttering this thread with this.

[Scoob]

Hi,

I was wondering why I'd not seen so much ZYA traffic through Heretic's End lately, then I noticed that they've been decimated by the Xenon. I'd not uncovered that many ZYA sectors, but of the four I had - Wretched Skies V, IV, Family Zhin and Family Nhutt - three have been taken by the Xenon. Open Market appears to be under attack too.

Both ZYA and FRF had previously seemed to be quite successful in fending off the Xenon. FRF haven't lost any sectors yet, even Tharka's Ravine VIII is still uncontested.

Note: I use FWEE too - currently on Beta 3.2 HF1, with the new Beta version of FWEE.

Scoob.

[Rolgar66]

@shuulo or anyone that might know.

Missiles and torpedoes for fighters and bombers on your carriers, are they worth it?

On my carriers I have groups of 20 spacecrafts and usually use different loadouts for fighters and bombers. Bombers are very effective against capital ships and stations. However, I usually first send in a group of fighters so that the enemy turrets are already engaged and then the bombers.

How difficult is restocking the missiles and torpedoes though? that's my main question. I'm wondering if i'm doing it right, do i need to restock every ship individually??!!

You can automate this part. For missiles/torpedoes the carrier or auxiliaries need Energy cells, Smart chips and missile components. Then set in the global order tab of your character the supply option to low, medium or high. Bombers will be restocked now automatically. VRO also provide auxiliary ships with MUCH larger cargo, so use one of them and you end in a couple of hours carrier ops without the need to restock.

[Derp]

Missiles and torpedoes for fighters and bombers on your carriers, are they worth it?

Absolutely. They're the only reason to field a carrier. Use Flak AA/CIWS for anti-fighter and heavy missiles for anti-capship. Ignore the light missiles, they're crap, you want to get the biggest AOE (pronounced "owie!") on the cheapest boats you can fit.

In the player's hands, they're even deadlier. I was able to solo the FRF start in my dragon, A Moment Of Your Time, through liberal abuse of missiles and the flight assist toggle. Four starburst missiles and a hit from my heavy guns could take out a dragon or cobra in one pass without ever leaving travel mode. After getting good at playing chicken with rattlesnakes by dying a whole bunch, landing a salvo of hornets at close range would completely strip their turrets, letting me sidle up for some intimate moments while my boarding ships travelled over, just like old times.

Of course, then the FRF sectors were completely undefended against the Xenon and I've been playing police ever since because they don't start making any military until after you make a giant fleet for them, so in retrospect I probably should have waited until I had 200 million or so in the bank, but hey, it could be done.

[Aranov]

So I started using this mod since I decided to start a new save, over all I gotta say I'm loving it.
Have two "issues" so far however,

1st, this may not even be vro, but I've noticed with a chassis mod on my ship to allow me extra missile storage won't work. I can pay to install the extras, but afterwards the ships ammo count drops back down to its default.

2nd, Not a criticism, but Xenon are getting out of control. Looking for suggestions, either in-game or with light modding to push them back.
Patch 3.1, Important other mods being used:
FWEE
FOCW, with most xenon jobs disabled in the options file. If I understand correctly, only main race jobs should be up.
RoR, with VRO patch.
XR Ship Pack, with VRO patch.
DeadAir's Dynamic Wars, Station Fill, and Wares.

As it is the galaxy is on a slow decline, Hatikvah's Choice 1 and Morning Star III are being sacked, Ianamus Zura is under hourly sieges that are only being ended by my battlefleet with millions in damage being done.
And the Zyarth and Teladi are really getting the shaft, but that'd be partly my fault, see as said battlefleet is made of Rattlesnakes and a "Lynx" battleship I stole from Zyarth.
Not sure why the Xenon hate the Teladi tho, but Ks Vs and Is are raiding Open Market and Profit Center Alpha every so often, In addition to the battles of Ianamus Zura.

I think I'm only a day in-game time into the game, feels like things are moving to fast to build an economy capable of fighting back. I mean, the only I can even contribute a little bit is because I resorted to piracy to steal warships.
Again, not a criticism, and I'm using so many other mods I don't expect my feedback matters to the overall mod, more so looking for advice with the Xenon.

[Shuulo]

number of Is in attacking fleets will be reduced in next version, though no ETA yet, as requires some work still.