Home » MODDING HQ 1.13 » v1.13 Feature Requests » [Request] New Ironman Modes
| [Request] New Ironman Modes[message #331318]
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Sun, 16 March 2014 16:02 
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 Charlie_May |
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Messages:27
Registered:March 2009 |
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I always play Ironman, because I don't have the restraint to stop myself from reloading if anything goes wrong. If I'm allowed to quicksave/load, I'll literally do so before/after each and every turn to maximize the outcome of the battle. Now that I play Ironman, everything is much more exciting and fun. But I'd like Ironman to be more customizable, hence why I'm proposing two new modes.
First, Ironman 'Light' : You're allowed to save during battle, but only in real-time mode. That way, if a battle goes wrong, you can at least reload to a point where all your mercs are in position right before engaging the enemy, instead of restarting from the strategic screen, and having to redeploy your mercs. I personally wouldn't use this mode unless playing on Insane or with tons and tons of enemies (having to restart a battle from scratch after having killed 50-60 enemies, because the last one that remains kills half your squad from his hiding spot in the corner of a map, can be too frustrating at times), but I can see how it would be a good compromise between the hardcoreness of Ironman and the cheesiness of instant reloading.
Which brings me to my second request : 'Extreme' Ironman. You're not allowed to save!, not by choice. Your progress is saved automatically after a certain amount of time (that the user could maybe specify in the .ini). For example, the game could be auto-saved at noon everyday. The reason I'm asking for this mode is that I want the tension and excitement of Ironman tactical battles to be transferred to the strategic screen. While I can't save/load obsessively in battle anymore, right now I can still save/load every hour on the overhead map, so as to optimize the movements of my troops. If Flo walks into a fatal ambush while bringing guns to San Mona, I can just reload my save from the hour before and send her through a different sector instead... I think that not being allowed to repair the catastrophes stemming from unwise troop movements or bad allocation of resources so easily would really make the strategic part of the game shine, and give much more weight to all the related 1.13 features such as the scout trait, the facilities, or the new ability to move militia from the Alma command center. If something bad happens, you've got to pay the price! either by losing some beloved merc, or by losing a lot of time replaying up to the point where things went terribly wrong.
[Updated on: Sun, 16 March 2014 16:04] by Moderator Report message to a moderator
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Private 1st Class
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| Re: [Request] New Ironman Modes[message #331943]
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Sat, 26 April 2014 22:55 
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| anv |
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Messages:258
Registered:March 2013 |
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I'd add that official "hardcore" mode creates a bait for "let's play" videos.
New Iron Man Modes
Selectable at campaign start under "Extra Difficulty" label:
"Soft Iron Man"
No saving when in turn-based combat. Can save with enemies around (in sector) but only if still in real-time mode.
"Extreme Iron Man"
Don't confuse with extreme ironing. No saving, except punctually at midnight - save screen opens by itself, so Player won't accidentally miss saving time window. Besides Player's save, game will be auto-saved at midnight too if auto-saving is on.
Both additional modes get their own pre-game warnings and unique "can't save because" messages.
Another small change I made is how auto saves rotation works. If at the given moment game can't be auto-saved, instead of leaving empty slot, this slot will be used next time.
Also, while adding new mode names, fixed few texts in gzGIOScreenTextscreen and zNewTacticalMessages in Polish version.
Save game compatibility:
Not broken. I even checked it under UB - oh, what sacrifices I make.
Patch file
[Updated on: Sun, 27 April 2014 12:35] by Moderator Report message to a moderator
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| Re: [Request] New Ironman Modes[message #354182 is a reply to message #331318]
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Sun, 29 July 2018 22:16
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| Szakal |
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Messages:2
Registered:July 2015
Location: Poland |
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Hey, I have slightly different question. Is there a way to disable soft ironman in already running campaign? I'm fighting almost 50 enemy soldiers in one battle and game crashed when I got them down to 20. I don't want to repeat that if the game will crash again.
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Civilian
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| Re: [Request] New Ironman Modes[message #354184 is a reply to message #354182]
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Mon, 30 July 2018 11:40
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| townltu |
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Messages:384
Registered:December 2017
Location: here |
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Szakal wrote on Sun, 29 July 2018 22:16Hey, I have slightly different question. Is there a way to disable soft ironman in already running campaign? I'm fighting almost 50 enemy soldiers in one battle and game crashed when I got them down to 20. I don't want to repeat that if the game will crash again.
A) It is probably possible with a debug version JA2.exe.
B)Get a hex editor/other program which allows to edit ram, like HxD, debug etc.
Start a new game with same settings as in your current campaign. (i.e. soft iron man "on") and save asap, before hiring anybody.
Start another new game with different settings, i.e. max player/squad size, octh/nct etc and make sure to select soft iron man "off", again save asap.
Use hex editor to compare both saves, note the whole string including those bytes within that did not change.
Each byte acts like a switch, i.e. the game checks stored numbers and selects settings like realistic or ScFi mode.
If you are not sure which byte represents the soft iron man switch,
create another new_game_savegame with settings like in your campaign, but change the soft iron mode to "off".
Compare files to localize soft im switch, then look at campaign save and note the string of all bytes identified as switches.
Run the game, tab back to the hex editor, select to open ram and there select the desired process.
make sure to select the correct program, wrong byte written in crucial process or direct to disk may cause big havoc
Now search in ram for the string of bytes, it should be near the start of allocated memory
here under XP it defaults to offset C06338h for the byte which represents the (O)cth/Ncth switch.
Now change the soft iron man byte to desired value, tab into game, save game in a new save game slot.
To confirm success either load the save in game or with hex editor and check whether soft iron man is off.
If not successful, close the game,
perhaps even cold boot the computer, if there is even only a tiny chnace you selected anything else than the correct process,
try again til success.
btw same change in savegame has no effect, probably valure is stored more than one time at different offsets.
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Master Sergeant
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| Re: [Request] New Ironman Modes[message #354187 is a reply to message #354184]
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Mon, 30 July 2018 19:31
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| Szakal |
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Messages:2
Registered:July 2015
Location: Poland |
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Thank you for that detailed answer. It all makes sense but I have different problem so I have trouble confirming that it works for me. If I minimize my game then I cannot go back. It's obviously a different issue that requires me to search for an answer somewhere else. I just want to respond to you immediately, even before I try your method. ;)
Edit: I couldn't fix the issue with alt+tab so I downloaded a source code and modified CanBeSaved function in GameSettings.cpp so it always return true. This way I don't have to disable ironman.
[Updated on: Tue, 31 July 2018 23:01] Report message to a moderator
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Civilian
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