World of Banished

Colonial Charter Balance Patch Beta Version 1

Download Links:

Colonial Charter (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mqtqL8EnyjC46OzjSXbOzBxhJrhE4tfq/view)

Balance Patch (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-ylmywKUqk5-UqDGVPhISYwc7SRsgs-Q)

Install: Put both into your WinData folder.  The contents should look like this (https://i.imgur.com/nwdYvlk.png).  You might have other mods in that folder, too.  That's just fine.

If you're using Steam, probably in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Banished\WinData. Non Steam builds default to
C:\Program Files\Shining Rock Software\Banished\WinData

Place the patch ABOVE Colonial Charter.  I recommend not using any other mods for now.

Enable both mods.  It will show a conflict.  That is NORMAL.

See this picture for example of how things should look (https://i.imgur.com/Eus7T3K.png).

Turn on the mods, let Banished reload.  Then CLOSE the game and reopen the game.  Anytime you add mods or removed mods to Banished you want to close the game and reopen it.

Overall Goal: Better Balance, not perfect balance.

This patches goal: Test general concept.  Does this work and is this a step in the right direction?

What you should do:

Play the game.  Do whatever you want.  Does it work and does it seem fair and balanced?

Start new towns. I don't believe good things will happen if you load a town made without the patch. I'm not sure how it would work or not work.

Virtually all town options should be similarly viable:

Make tons of bread?  Do it.
Use Firebundles?  Do it.
Make a town that focuses on Mining?  Do it.  Dig for gold.  Have an army of slave stonecutters.  Be a coal mining dystopia.
Make ANYTHING into Building Supplies or Homewares?  Do it.  All should work great.
Butcher all the animals!
Preserve all the food in anyway you want.
ALMOST Anything should be a viable option.

You shouldn't have to look at the spreadsheet to ask "is this a viable choice".  Everything should be viable.

Here's a link to the spreadsheets anyway (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lUZLmJE2mrjZ-d9hp29nLYBJ8DZKcjeLTXZwuIeHqY8/edit?usp=sharing).  Checkout the Food NEW, Resources NEW, and Refined NEW tab.  Changes are shown highlighted in blueish gray.

If something seems too good or too bad, let me know.  Right now everything should be "pretty darn good."  Perhaps everything is slightly too good.  You might make too many Pots, Bread, Ropes, Glass, Bread etc.

Known Issues: 

Some of the "Recipes" will have INCORRECT information of what is used.  I didn't update that yet.  I didn't touch Animal Pens, Military Stuff, nor Trade Buildings (Chartered Co, Bootlegger etc.) yet.

Things to do:

Update Recipe Dropdown descriptions (https://i.imgur.com/D8oBBBt.png).  Some of those are wrong.

Remove Bronze Tools.  They are more effective than Steel Tools, cheaper, and cost Bronze.  Maybe make a replacement of some kind?

Redo some default item limits: Construction, Furnace Fuel etc.

Change order of some recipes: Waterwheel Sawmill to Firewood by default.

Consider changing building costs and Home Warmth factors.

Consider adding a cost to mining.  Burn Candles/Lamp Oil to Mines.

Thanks to Banished for being an amazing game.  Thanks to the people at BlackLiquid (https://www.blackliquidsoftware.com/forum/) for making Colonial Charter.  It is super amazing.  Special thanks for Kraylerg for compiling everything into the mod so we can all play it.

I tried to download the patch but windows blocked it.

It contains a virus  --  Trojan:Win32/Spursint.F!cl

I will not have so much time to play for the next few weeks but if there´s no virus on the patch after Christmas, I´ll be happy to try it then.

I had Norton analyze the patch. No threats whatsoever.

Quote from: Glenn on December 16, 2019, 08:40:47 PM
I tried to download the patch but windows blocked it.

It contains a virus  --  Trojan:Win32/Spursint.F!cl

I just downloaded and scanned both linked files and found no issues.

just downloaded and unzipped. got no virus warning. i am with avast.

I tried to download it again this morning and it was blocked again.

Perhaps Windows Security is picking up something that your's is missing.

Again it shows

Threat detected: Trojan:Win32/Spursint.F!cl

On top of megamod can or not? I have a megamod working better than a bunch of individual files with same amount of mods.

The full alert is

Threat detected: Trojan:Win32/Spursint.F!cl
Alert level: Severe
Date:18/12/2019 11:57am
Category: Trojan
Details: This program is dangerous and executes commands from an attacker.

Affected items"

file: C:\Users\Glenn\Downloads\CCRebalanced.7z

webfile: C:\Users\Glenn\Downloads\CCRebalanced.7z|https://doc-0o-8c-docs.googleusercontent.com/docs/securesc/ha0ro937gcuc7l7deffksulhg5h7mbp1/lpf4gjnecotj2ki8r78i2i409si3s31h/1576627200000/07412861551926226204/*/1WKSv2JhkpadYtp7D4dZFIjp_QoniHA28?e=download|pid:11180,ProcessStart:132211028397101946

Thank you for your replies

I have never had this problem before with any of my Banished downloads and am puzzled why you can download it and I can't.

Would one of you please be kind enough to attach the pkm file to a reply so I may try downloading it again.

Windows gives me the option to allow the file but I don't want to risk it  --  just in case


All my best

Here's a direct link to the pkm.  It's 122mb. That's why it was zipped previously.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yiUTKANEYw0Cx3IO6w19mVwR34Az-M9P

Thank you,

The pkm  file downloaded perfectly this time.

My windows security updates every day, sometime twice a day and it has never let me down.

Quote from: Glenn on December 17, 2019, 07:19:17 PM
Thank you,

The pkm  file downloaded perfectly this time.

My windows security updates every day, sometime twice a day and it has never let me down.

I scanned it with McAfee, DOD version; Vipre, and Windows Security and none came back with any warning or infection.
Your warning looks like a google drive redirector malware.  What browser did you use?

I use chrome

Quote from: tuggistar on December 17, 2019, 05:03:29 PM
On top of megamod can or not? I have a megamod working better than a bunch of individual files with same amount of mods.

It might work like that.  I have no idea.  Give it a try.  My guess is there will be some issues of options missing.

It might wipe away lots of Megamod options.  I don't know if Megamod has more options for things like Sugar, Potts, Homewares, Building Supplies, etc.

Quote from: Glenn on December 17, 2019, 08:17:11 PM
I use chrome

I did some research on this and it appears you have a false positive.  Microsoft has made large advances in the global security initiatives and in trying to make their defender client more effective.  Part of the back-end power provided to Windows clients is an AI process used by MS.  It tends to be more careful in order to provide the best protection possible.  7zip had a vulnerability and was exploited not too long ago, so MS is very picky about 7z files.  I would tentatively declare this file to be safe.

Thank you for looking into this.

The last thing I wanted was for anyone to download a file that my have been accidentally infected.

Feel free to hold off on trying the mod for a while.

The game will crash anytime a Silver Pfenning or Gold Guilders  produced.  It will take time to figure out exactly what is causing it, fixing the issue, getting the fix to Kralerg, and getting the mod remade and uploaded. 

Silver Pfennings and Gold Guilders are also produced when you open some random scattered map chest.  So your game might crash randomly -- which is nice. 

(https://i.imgur.com/tPVXotj.png)

I believe I fixed the issues with coins causing crashes.  This is a link to the updated file (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-ylmywKUqk5-UqDGVPhISYwc7SRsgs-Q).  I'm also editing the original post to have the new link.  It should work with existing saves you had.  Let me know if you try it and crash frequently, still.

I´ve made a test. It´s been such a long time since I played CC, so I can´t really compare to "original" but I´ve looked into some production numbers. There are many reasonable numbers but still, some overpowered and a few hopelessly inefficient production buildings left. I know, you don´t have the ambition to make a perfect balancing @smurphys7 but I will still tell my opinion about the sites, I find needs to be changed.

First, what do I mean when I mean something is reasonably balanced? I always look at an annual profit: mostly trade profit but if it´s a food production site with a trade value of more than 1, I might look at such a site in two ways; as a provider of food for the town as well as for trade. If a worker at a site can´t support himself and one more unproductive person, I wouldn´t run the site if I can buy its products; an annual profit of about 300.  If a simple site without input or working area produces more than about 500, I find it´s overpowered. If there´s an input of several products or a working area, the annual profit could be higher; say 1000 or 1200 but never as much as a vanilla woodcutter or brewery. Of course, these annual production numbers depends on several conditions like education, logistic, location... When I look at numbers it´s 100% (or 0%) education, a decent normal logistic without every effort to make it "super-efficient" and a dense building style.

I'll show how I developed the settlement and say something about the buildings with high(low production.

First picture
Year 4
The Reed Farm and Hunting Blind can both give up to 1400 meat/reed and you can spam the shore with these small sites. That´s too much. On the other hand, the small workshop isn´t very efficient in making fuel from the reed; only a profit of about 150. In this case, I find a low productíon reasonable; reed doesn´t contain much energy but if you´re clever, you´ll sell the reed and buy fuel (or better logs and cut them to firewood). I haven´t run the other products; survival coats, rough tools (both needed at the beginning) and rope long enough to show some numbers but rough tools are and should be "bad business" to make, survival coats are decent to make and rope, not a loss anymore but probably still better to buy.

There´s also a very unprofitable Driftwood Scavenger only a profit of 100-120. But I see problems if you increase this. This small site should give less wood than an ordinary forester with a large working area and as long as foresters are as unprofitable as they are in vanilla, I see no good solution. Like in vanilla; logs is the first import product.

The Apiary and Tidal Pool are both quite OK but a bit high for a simple site; 600.

Second picture
Year 7
I sell reed for logs and stones and duck meat for other food.
I don´t run the Lumber Yard, Small Fuel Refinery, Iron Smelter and Blacksmith continuously but they seem OK.

Third picture
Year 9
The Candlemaker has become very profitable; a trade value of about 1000 if you have enough beeswax. But you can´t say that about the stonecutter. I would never take the accidents and the high use of tools for having stonecutters that barely can support themselves.

Fourth picture
Year 12
Mining for iron ore is even worse than stones. Since it´s only worth 2; a miner is far from able to support himself. Coalmining is a little better but still not worth the effort.

But making flour and especially hardtack is very profitable; Mill 500, Bakery 1000.

Fifth picture
Year 15
The Shore House is OK for raw material, frog legs and turtles also OK if you´re selling them, low as food producers 250*2. Producing glass is very profitable something like 1200-1500, bricks now worth to produce even if the profit is far lower, maybe something like 500.

I haven´t run the Building Supplier a whole year and not all combination of inputs but it seems OK.

Sixth picture
Year 19
Making furniture at the Joiner is OK but not very profitable, just around 300 but it seems to be OK to make homeware even if I haven´t run it a whole year with all products.

The Rice Planter is still too profitable; up to 1500. You´ll need two mills to process the rice to flour from one planter (does people really use rice flour?) but you can make 3000 flour and from that flour, you can make 18000 hardtacks. You´ll need something like 8 bakeries with 2 bakers in each but that one mini field can support a large settlement with bread.

Here I stopped this game because I had the crazy idea to build a larger settlement with fancy houses on a mountain map supported with only reed, duckmeat and hardtack. I´m sure it works very/too well. I´ll show you tomorrow.

Thanks for the feedback.  There are some tough choices to be made.

QuoteI wouldn´t run the site if I can buy its products; an annual profit of about 300.  If a simple site without input or working area produces more than about 500, I find it´s overpowered.

That is the balance that I, personally, want.  However, that is not the balance of Vanilla buildings.

I am unsure which direction I should go.  Right now, I am going towards "Preserve vanilla balance of 500-1500 profit" rather than "balance the game the way Nilla and I prefer: 300-600ish".

In Vanilla, Fishing Docks are at the low at about 400-600 profit per worker per year.  Farms, Gathering Huts, Hunting Cabins, Pastures, Woodcutters, etc. all drastically exceed this number.  I want to keep these buildings producing the same amount of goods each year.  I want Gathering Huts and Woodcutters to make the same amount of food and the same amount of Firewood.  Keeping that preserves the vanilla balance of food and firewood production.  I did halve the value of Firewood and most foods will be valued at 1 or 2.  That should, somewhat, reduce their profitability.

However, like you said, that's going to make most things overpowered.  Perhaps at some point I will make a second, more difficult, version of Colonial Charter.  For now, I think I am going to have most things be overpowered.  I am open to changing my mind on this topic but right now I think that Colonial Charter isn't supposed to be harder than vanilla.  People just want to make pretty towns but let's make it a bit more fair.

I don't believe any Dock Set changes are patched yet.  I haven't touched Reed producers, Ricer Planters and Driftwood scavengers yet.  Lookin at the numbers, I am probably going to halve or third their production by adding more work-time.  Like you said, I'll have to consider how to do Driftwood scavengers.

I did touch Hunting Blinds.  I increased their total work-time from 300 to 400.  That puts them on-par with Tidal Pools and Apiaries and most other food producers.  Perhaps I should lower them some more because they are so cheap and because they have no input good.

The Mining I am unsure about.  I hit an unexpected snag on Stone Production.  I changed it so the workers only have 1 "Work Time" but many "Work Amount".  This preserves maximum tool-usage.  The unanticipated side-effect is that workers in the Quarries run around back and forth a lot.  They take 1 swing, run to a new place, and then take 1 swing again.  This running around drastically reduces production. 

I am going to buff the quarries but I am unsure exactly how.  I want to preserve tool usage, but I'd like to get them to stop running around like idiots because it looks silly, but I also want to keep things productive. 

For your Iron Mine, the one that you built, at tier 1, is probably the least productive building in the game.  I thought that this building, and Clay/Sand pits, should be the least productive options.  I'll further adjust the Mines far higher than they are now.  The Mine that you built is still 3x as effective as a standard large, untouched Colonial Charter Mine.  As you demonstrated, that still isn't any good.

The cheap, all wood, mines are going to be less productive than the more expensive ones.  However, like you said, I think they need further buffs across the board. 

I think I knocked furniture down a little more than I should. 

I'm in the process of making a giant, sweeping change to tons of things.  All food refiners will now make new goods that have a trade value of 2.  The idea is that Food Refining should be used to make more food for your own town rather than being highly encouraged to trade it away.  I wanted to avoid the old vanilla game of "trade away your venison for fish" that became "Trade away your tinned, smoked, and preserved food" in CC.  It is still good to trade, at 2 to 1, but not quite the 3 or 4 to 1.

The main question is "do I want to preserve it being easy like vanilla"?  Right now, my answer is generally "yes."  Personally, I'd like it to be harder, like you describe. 

Right now, my balance goals are to get everything in-line with Fishing and Clay/Sand Digging at the bottom of the pile.  Some of the cheap food producers, like Hunting Blinds, should be down there.  I want the high end to be the "new" Woodcutting.  I took Firewood's (and all fuel) value from 4 to 2 but preserved the quantity produced.  The "firewood" economy is still quite strong at half effectiveness.  I want to put Food Refining and expensive producers at this high value.  As you can see, lot's of stuff is really powerful at that "high end." 

Again, I agree with your assessments on all the buildings you tested.  Again, I'm not sure exactly what I want to do about it.  For now, I'm taking my time to make a more comprehensive update that hits lots more things.  I'll let you know when it is done. 

I also made a few town's with Bakeries and got similar results to what you did.  I'm doing another pass at them to try and get the Millers to Bakers amount more balanced.

I agree with your ambition to keep the vanilla difficulty. But does keeping vanilla difficulty also mean keeping vanilla profit of each site? Don´t most mods generally make the game easier? Say; vanilla farming is quite profitable but you need to work with good locations of barns and homes and it needs space, so a big farming economy has its own challenge. But what is if you can process this farmed food? Isn´t it easier to be able to grind wheat to flour and bake the flour to bread than build more fields?

I know, it´s difficult to make it "right". I think you are in a good way. I like that firewood is "only" worth 2. I like that simple food is worth 1 and "advanced" food 2, not more. I like that it´s a good profit to export complex goods rather than simple firewood and meat.

I also understand your issues with mines and quarries. I too like the idea of a higher tool usage but as long as this higher tool usage and a higher risk of accidents don´t pay off with a very good profit, I will not run an ugly mine or quarry if I can buy the products. You talk about clay/sand pits as low producing. I didn´t run it long enough to have numbers but it looks like something like 600-700 clay/sand and compared to the mines with something like 30*2 for iron ore or 30*7 for coal it´s far better.

Anyhow, even if it´s not perfect; I find your changes improve the CC mod.

I´ll just show a picture. As I thought it´s possible to build a fancy town based on the export of reeds, duckmeat and hardtack. Look at the number of idling labourers and the stores!.  ::) :P :-\

Maybe I ought to make a try completely without trade.

Edit: I just saw that you need 2 workers to produce something like 600 clay/sand at the shore house, so you are right; it´s at the lower "end" of the "profit scale".

I had a crash as I tried to assign a worker to the wild shepherd´s cabin.

I'll give that a try at some point.  I don't think I touched Shepherds.