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berto
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Berto's WIA Weathers Mod

Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:13 pm

Following is a Weathers Mod for Wars in America.

What's the point?

I have never liked the weather modelling in WIA, or any of the other AGEOD games. To me, the weathers in WIA & co. are a mostly nonsensical random mishmash--a crazy quilt of implausibility, impossibility even. (Examples to follow in subsequent posts.)

Your Mileage May Vary! If you disagree with me, if you are happy with the default WIA Weathers--fine. That is your prerogative. And it's my right to be unhappy. And to mod things to my liking. That is what (in part) mods are for--to tailor the game to personal fit. If it doesn't fit you, don't wear it. Moving on...

In my mod, I have grouped the various weather regions into three broad bands:

#NORTH
#Canadian_Maritimes
#Eastern_Canada
#Western_Canada
#Eastern_Great_Lakes
#Western_Great_Lakes
#Upper_New_England

#MIDDLE
#Lower_New_England
#Kentuckee_Uplands
#Upland_Middle_States
#Upper_West
#Northern_Plains
#CoastalWaters_Middle_States
#WxAtlantic
#WxEurope

#SOUTH
#Southern_Plains
#Upland_South
#Upland_Southeast
#Lower_Louisianne
#CoastalWaters_Carribean
#CoastalWaters_Southeast

(I have written a Perl script to auto-generate the weather .ini files. My explanatory examples here are lifted from the script.)

For each weather band, for the 12 months in the year, I have specified weather as follows:

@north = (3,3,2,2,1,0,0,0,0,1,2,3);
@northcold = (3,3,3,2,1,0,0,0,0,1,3,3);
@northwarm = (2,2,2,1,1,0,0,0,0,1,2,2);

@middle = (2,2,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,2);
@middlecold = (3,2,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,2);
@middlewarm = (1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1);

@south = (1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1);
@southcold = (2,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1);
@southwarm = (1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1);

where

3 = Frozen
2 = Snow
1 = Rain/Mud
0 = Fair

and

[default] = Other, Swamp, FreezeShallow, FreezeOcean
cold = Mountain, Wilderness
warm = NoFreezeShallow, CoastalWaters, NoFreezeOcean

(Note: No "blizzards" in this mod. Properly speaking, blizzards are short episodes of very intense snowy, windy winter weather. Blizzard conditions for an entire month? Doesn't happen. "Frozen" and "Snow" suffice to represent average winter weathers. Also: Swamps are just wet lowlands; no reason to suppose any tendency toward cold.)

In general:

--colder to the north, warmer to the south
--colder in the uplands and wilderness, warmer in the lowlands and toward the coasts
--consistency east to west (no "crazy quilt" weather patterns)
--consistent, predictable weather across seasons, and over the years (can't be helped; because of the way weather is modelled by default in WIA--weather determined randomly region/terrain by region/terrain, with only accidental correlation across regions/terrains--the more variability permitted, the goofier the results; I sacrifice variable weather for more sensible weather; maybe someday AGEOD will redo its weather model to allow both)

Here is a typical weather specification, in this case a portion of the WeatherPatterns_Lower_New_England.ini file:

Lower_New_England|January|Other|Fair|0
Lower_New_England|January|Other|Mud|0
Lower_New_England|January|Other|Snow|100
Lower_New_England|January|Other|Frozen|0
Lower_New_England|January|Other|Blizzard|0
Lower_New_England|January|Swamp|Fair|0
Lower_New_England|January|Swamp|Mud|0
Lower_New_England|January|Swamp|Snow|100
Lower_New_England|January|Swamp|Frozen|0
Lower_New_England|January|Swamp|Blizzard|0
Lower_New_England|January|Wilderness|Fair|0
Lower_New_England|January|Wilderness|Mud|0
Lower_New_England|January|Wilderness|Snow|0
Lower_New_England|January|Wilderness|Frozen|100
Lower_New_England|January|Wilderness|Blizzard|0
Lower_New_England|January|Mountain|Fair|0
Lower_New_England|January|Mountain|Mud|0
Lower_New_England|January|Mountain|Snow|0
Lower_New_England|January|Mountain|Frozen|100
Lower_New_England|January|Mountain|Blizzard|0
Lower_New_England|January|FreezeShallow|Fair|0
Lower_New_England|January|FreezeShallow|Mud|0
Lower_New_England|January|FreezeShallow|Snow|100
Lower_New_England|January|FreezeShallow|Frozen|0
Lower_New_England|January|FreezeShallow|Blizzard|0
Lower_New_England|January|NoFreezeShallow|Fair|0
Lower_New_England|January|NoFreezeShallow|Mud|100
Lower_New_England|January|NoFreezeShallow|Snow|0
Lower_New_England|January|NoFreezeShallow|Frozen|0
Lower_New_England|January|NoFreezeShallow|Blizzard|0
Lower_New_England|January|CoastalWaters|Fair|0
Lower_New_England|January|CoastalWaters|Mud|100
Lower_New_England|January|CoastalWaters|Snow|0
Lower_New_England|January|CoastalWaters|Frozen|0
Lower_New_England|January|CoastalWaters|Blizzard|0
Lower_New_England|January|FreezeOcean|Fair|0
Lower_New_England|January|FreezeOcean|Mud|0
Lower_New_England|January|FreezeOcean|Snow|100
Lower_New_England|January|FreezeOcean|Frozen|0
Lower_New_England|January|FreezeOcean|Blizzard|0
Lower_New_England|January|NoFreezeOcean|Fair|0
Lower_New_England|January|NoFreezeOcean|Mud|100
Lower_New_England|January|NoFreezeOcean|Snow|0
Lower_New_England|January|NoFreezeOcean|Frozen|0
Lower_New_England|January|NoFreezeOcean|Blizzard|0
[...]

As you can see, for each terrain type, it's all (100% chance) or nothing (0% chance) weather. This is true across all regions, all months, all terrain types.

This is a work-in-progress. With user feedback, as I research further into North American weather, and as my ideas evolve, I will update this mod. (Eventually, I plan to port this mod over to other AGEOD games, whose weather I find equally grating.)

Please see the Weathers Mod v0.4 attached (below). (With each new release, I will be sure to attach the latest release to this first message in this thread.)

To install, simply unzip into the WIA/GameData/Weathers directory. Make a backup of your default Weathers directory first!
Attachments
BertoWIAWeathersModv04.zip
(43.99 KiB) Downloaded 533 times
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berto
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Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:18 pm

Some examples of default WIA weather to follow. Then later, examples of the modded weather.

April 1763, warmer weather to the north in Canada

Image

but colder weather to the south around Texas (and Oklahoma and Arkansas)

Image

Does this seem reasonable to you?

Before you answer that question, consider (sharing my observations, and expressing my opinions):

--In WIA, game turns are one month. Weather should represent average weather patterns across 30 days, not short-term weather, or passing weather fronts.
--In WIA, weather anomalies are the rule, not the exception.
--People might cite freak snowstorms or cold snaps in the Deep South, or the rare occasions of inverted continental temperature patterns (warm to the north, cold to the south). But in real life, these are "freak" and "rare". In WIA the game, these are commonplace.
--People might cite the "Little Ice Age" (roughly the 16th through the 19th Centuries) and the generally somewhat colder weather toward the end of that age compared to our current weather. But the differences are "somewhat" (in real life, real history), not extreme (as in the game).
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berto
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Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:21 pm

May 1763, again warmer weather to the north in Canada

Image

but colder weather to the south around Arkansas

Image

Again, does this seem reasonable to you?

Note that, in both examples, we are comparing mountains to mountains ("apples to apples"), so elevation doesn't factor into it.
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berto
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Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:24 pm

June 1763, again generally warmer weather to the north in New England

Image

but, um, snow in the Berkshires in June, for an entire month? Surrounded all around (including mountains and wilderness) by rain/fair weather regions?

Does this seem reasonable to you?
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berto
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Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:30 pm

October 1764, snow down south around Oklahoma but no snow anywhere else on the game map.

Image

Does this seem reasonable to you?

In this game, a very pronounced Ice Age in the Southern Plains! You tend to see snow around Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas very often. And late into spring even.
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berto
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Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:32 pm

Isolated pockets of anomalous weather:

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Do these seem reasonable to you?

Again, this is due to the way WIA the Game computes the weather (weather determined randomly region/terrain by region/terrain, with only accidental correlation across regions/terrains).
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berto
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Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:33 pm

April 1763, more oddities:

Image

Crazy quilt!

Note that many of the snowy areas down south are lowlands, not upper elevations (mountains).

(Note also that I didn't have to go very far to find this one odd example. This is the weather pattern of another test game's very first turn.)
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berto
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Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:34 pm

April 1763, from another test game, more crazy quilt patterns:

Image

Does this seem reasonable to you?
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berto
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Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:35 pm

I drew the above examples firstly from just a single test game (of the Pontiac's War scenario), then two consecutive reloads. No need to wait very long to see weather strangeness (IMHO). You can see it almost every turn, almost everywhere you look.

Now, on to some mod examples...
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berto
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Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:36 pm

April 1763, modded weather (as of v0.2):

Image

Consistently (more or less) colder north, warmer south.
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berto
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Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:37 pm

December 1763, modded weather (as of v0.2):

Image

Consistently (more or less) colder north, warmer south.

I might reconsider assigning the Kentucky regions to the South weather area (no longer to the Middle weather area), so that the snowy regions don't extend as far south. What I'd really like to do is to review the assignment of all regions, in order to iron out the kinks even better.
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Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:49 am

January 1764, modded weather (as of v0.2):

Image

No isolated pockets or fingers of anomalous weather there!
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berto
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Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:56 am

Note: As I figure out how to reassign game regions to different weather areas, the modded weather patterns might broadly change. For now, I am stuck with the weather region-to-area assignments as AGEOD has specified them.

So, that's it for now. Constructive comments are welcome. (Again, if you don't like it, don't trash it. It's only a mod. Your Mileage May Vary.)
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von Sachsen
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Wed Jun 22, 2011 2:42 am

Looks good, though a few anomalies might be good, given how unpredictable weather in the real world is. Well, not so much anomalies as variation: it will snow in Canada in the winter, but when the snow comes and when it melts are another question. It might melt prematurely in April only to have another cold snap the next month. Also would there be any way to have the weather from the previous moth affect that of the next? This would help this as you don't know what the weather will be exactly that year, you might be in for a long, cold winter if it starts early, likewise if it snowed very hard there would be a greater chance mud.

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berto
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Wed Jun 22, 2011 6:20 am

Regional weathers are determined by chance, entirely independently from other regions, and what happened before, or what will happen after. So, it is not possible, with the current AGEOD weather modelling, to represent a "long, cold winter" one year and a short, mild winter the next.

It might be possible to introduce a bit more variation into the mod, but not at the cost of introducing too much implausibility. For the most part, it is not possible to allow too much chance variation in each region's weather without sacrificing the overriding goals of

--colder to the north, warmer to the south
--colder in the uplands and wilderness, warmer in the lowlands and toward the coasts
--consistency east to west (no "crazy quilt" weather patterns)

In a given month, if you allow regions to be either rain or snow, chance (the internal program die rolls) might yield this desired pattern:

snow snow
rain rain

or this:

snow snow
snow snow

or this:

rain rain
rain rain

but you might also get:

snow rain
rain snow

or even:

rain rain
snow snow

where the latter two results violate the first and/or the third of the three mod "principles" cited above.

So, it's a trade-off. Yes, you lose variation; but you gain overall, average plausibility (suggested by the lengthy 30-day turn cycles). I prefer (deem more sensible) plausible if predictable, unvarying patterns over random, ever changing crazy quilts. As always, Your Mileage May Vary.
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Wed Jun 22, 2011 6:56 am

Interesting stuff berto! :thumbsup:

Cheers, Chris

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berto
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Wed Jun 22, 2011 2:43 pm

Gray_Lensman wrote:Hint: Look in the areas.ini file (in the main .../GameData folder) for weather area definitions and you'll see the individual regions assigned to those weather areas. :) A little judicious moving from one area to another and bingo you're set. Just be sure that a region is only assigned to one weather area only and not multiple weather areas otherwise crash and burn.

Thanks for the tip. I'll be sure to give that a try.
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Wed Jun 22, 2011 3:34 pm

Interesting, let's see if we can get closer to what you describe yet keep the unpredictability :w00t:
(Opinion: I gag a bit with the idea of 100% predictable weather: kinda like an alien visited and trerraformed the weather!!!!:blink :)

Another helpful (in my opinion) thing to contemplate is given 1 month turns might be the descriptions displayed of the weather:


Variable name........Current 1.08 ==> Proposed
strWeather0..........Fair ========> Fair
strWeather1..........Rain ========> Mud
strWeather2..........Snow =======> Cold
strWeather3..........Frozen ======> Frozen
strWeather4..........Blizzard =====> Severe

It's sortof the way I think about the weather seen over the month duration...

These are text strings in Local_Strings_WIA.csv (or .xls), and I've contemplated changing them several times anyway, but "patch fever" always made me forget :wacko:


(and, to digress, yes, 2 week or 1 week turns are moddable, but massive work is needed with any event or setup that has "locked for" settings))
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berto
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Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:13 pm

It is my goal to re-introduce variability, but without--at all, or too much, I haven't yet decided--violating the design "principles" of

--colder to the north, warmer to the south
--colder in the uplands and wilderness, warmer in the lowlands and toward the coasts
--consistency east to west (no "crazy quilt" weather patterns)

As stated, variation is a nice-to-have, but I personally (my bias) give higher priority--exclusiveness even--to achieving plausibility.

But, sure, let's see if we can both have our cake and eat it too. :)

Anyway, I have released this as a "mere" v0.2. The Weathers mod is still a work-in-progress, actually a work-just-begun. At this point, a basis for discussion and generating new ideas. It's got a ways to go yet.
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berto
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Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:56 pm

lodilefty wrote:
Variable name........Current 1.08 ==> Proposed
strWeather0..........Fair ========> Fair
strWeather1..........Rain ========> Mud
strWeather2..........Snow =======> Cold
strWeather3..........Frozen ======> Frozen
strWeather4..........Blizzard =====> Severe

I would retain the "Snow", as--according to the manual (outdated?)--it has battles fought at closer range. "Cold" doesn't imply that.

How about: Fair > Rain > Snow > Icy > Frozen ?

Or maybe "Frigid" or "Freezing" instead of "Icy".

Other synonyms: chilly, cool, freezing, frigid, frosty, frozen, glacial, icy, nippy, polar, arctic.

We all know that it can snow even if temps are above freezing. (In Chicago, early April snows typically melt entirely within a day or two.)
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berto
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Berto's Weathers Mod v0.3

Fri Jun 24, 2011 7:07 pm

I have prepared v0.3 of Berto's WIA Weathers Mod. To download, see the first message in this thread.

In my mod, I have grouped the various weather regions into three broad bands:

#NORTH
#Canadian_Maritimes
#Eastern_Canada
#Western_Canada
#Eastern_Great_Lakes
#Western_Great_Lakes
#Upper_New_England

#MIDDLE
#Lower_New_England
#Kentuckee_Uplands
#Upland_Middle_States
#Upper_West
#Northern_Plains
#CoastalWaters_Middle_States
#WxAtlantic
#WxEurope

#SOUTH
#Southern_Plains
#Upland_South
#Upland_Southeast
#Lower_Louisianne
#CoastalWaters_Carribean
#CoastalWaters_Southeast

For each weather band, for the 12 months in the year, I have specified weather as follows:

@north = (2.5, 2.5, 2 , 1.5, 0.5, 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5, 2 , 2.5);
@northcold = (3 , 3 , 3 , 2 , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , 2.5, 3 );
@northwarm = (2 , 2 , 2 , 1 , 0.5, 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5, 2 , 2 );

@middle = (2 , 2 , 1 , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , 2 );
@middlecold = (2.5, 2 , 1.5, 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , 2 );
@middlewarm = (2 , 1.5, 1 , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5, 1.5);

@south = (1 , 1 , 1 , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5, 1 );
@southcold = (1.5, 1.5, 1 , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5, 1.5);
@southwarm = (1 , 1 , 0.5, 0.5, 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5, 1 );

where

3 = Frozen
2 = Snow
1 = Rain/Mud
0 = Fair

and

[default] = Other, Swamp, FreezeShallow, FreezeOcean
cold = Mountain, Wilderness
warm = NoFreezeShallow, CoastalWaters, NoFreezeOcean

v0.3 of the mod introduces variability!

So whereas before a "2" might result in

Canadian_Maritimes|January|CoastalWaters|Fair|0
Canadian_Maritimes|January|CoastalWaters|Mud|0
Canadian_Maritimes|January|CoastalWaters|Snow|100
Canadian_Maritimes|January|CoastalWaters|Frozen|0
Canadian_Maritimes|January|CoastalWaters|Blizzard|0

that is, a 100% chance of the "2" weather, i.e., Snow; now a "2.5" might result in

Canadian_Maritimes|January|CoastalWaters|Fair|0
Canadian_Maritimes|January|CoastalWaters|Mud|0
Canadian_Maritimes|January|CoastalWaters|Snow|50
Canadian_Maritimes|January|CoastalWaters|Frozen|50
Canadian_Maritimes|January|CoastalWaters|Blizzard|0

that is, a 50% chance of the "2" weather, i.e., Snow, and a 50% chance of the "3" weather, i.e., Frozen.

So, for Eastern_Canada, with February weather specified as 2.5/3/2

@north = (2.5, 2.5, ...
@northcold = (3 , 3 , ...
@northwarm = (2 , 2 , ...

we get the corresponding entries in the WeatherPatterns_Eastern_Canada.ini file as

Eastern_Canada|February|Other|Fair|0
Eastern_Canada|February|Other|Mud|0
Eastern_Canada|February|Other|Snow|50
Eastern_Canada|February|Other|Frozen|50
Eastern_Canada|February|Other|Blizzard|0
Eastern_Canada|February|Swamp|Fair|0
Eastern_Canada|February|Swamp|Mud|0
Eastern_Canada|February|Swamp|Snow|50
Eastern_Canada|February|Swamp|Frozen|50
Eastern_Canada|February|Swamp|Blizzard|0
Eastern_Canada|February|Wilderness|Fair|0
Eastern_Canada|February|Wilderness|Mud|0
Eastern_Canada|February|Wilderness|Snow|0
Eastern_Canada|February|Wilderness|Frozen|100
Eastern_Canada|February|Wilderness|Blizzard|0
Eastern_Canada|February|Mountain|Fair|0
Eastern_Canada|February|Mountain|Mud|0
Eastern_Canada|February|Mountain|Snow|0
Eastern_Canada|February|Mountain|Frozen|100
Eastern_Canada|February|Mountain|Blizzard|0
Eastern_Canada|February|FreezeShallow|Fair|0
Eastern_Canada|February|FreezeShallow|Mud|0
Eastern_Canada|February|FreezeShallow|Snow|50
Eastern_Canada|February|FreezeShallow|Frozen|50
Eastern_Canada|February|FreezeShallow|Blizzard|0
Eastern_Canada|February|NoFreezeShallow|Fair|0
Eastern_Canada|February|NoFreezeShallow|Mud|0
Eastern_Canada|February|NoFreezeShallow|Snow|100
Eastern_Canada|February|NoFreezeShallow|Frozen|0
Eastern_Canada|February|NoFreezeShallow|Blizzard|0
Eastern_Canada|February|CoastalWaters|Fair|0
Eastern_Canada|February|CoastalWaters|Mud|0
Eastern_Canada|February|CoastalWaters|Snow|100
Eastern_Canada|February|CoastalWaters|Frozen|0
Eastern_Canada|February|CoastalWaters|Blizzard|0
Eastern_Canada|February|FreezeOcean|Fair|0
Eastern_Canada|February|FreezeOcean|Mud|0
Eastern_Canada|February|FreezeOcean|Snow|50
Eastern_Canada|February|FreezeOcean|Frozen|50
Eastern_Canada|February|FreezeOcean|Blizzard|0
Eastern_Canada|February|NoFreezeOcean|Fair|0
Eastern_Canada|February|NoFreezeOcean|Mud|0
Eastern_Canada|February|NoFreezeOcean|Snow|100
Eastern_Canada|February|NoFreezeOcean|Frozen|0
Eastern_Canada|February|NoFreezeOcean|Blizzard|0

I have tried very hard to introduce sensible variation, and as much variation as possible, without violating the mod's three main design "principles":

--colder to the north, warmer to the south
--colder in the uplands and wilderness, warmer in the lowlands and toward the coasts
--consistency east to west (no "crazy quilt" weather patterns)

At this point, I don't see how I can go beyond 100% versus 50-50% (to allow, e.g., 30-30-40%, say) without over complicating things and risking violating one or more of the "principles".

I have run through a complete year of game turns, and I like what I see. Not perfect -- I'd still like to reassign a few regions to different weather areas -- but it's looking good.

It is now possible for some areas to have colder winters one year, milder winters the next.

This remains a work-in-progress. Although I will research and tweak weather patterns further (it can get to be quite complicated!), I am not aiming for some faux accuracy or ultra "realism" -- unobtainable in any case. No, "good enough" is just that -- if not perfect, then good enough!

Some sample screen shots follow.
What this town needs is a good Renaissance band!

Early MusiChicago - Early Music in Chicago and Beyond - http://earlymusichicago.org

PIKT - Global-View, Site-at-a-Time System and Network Administration - http://pikt.org

AGElint - an AGE debugging toolkit - http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2978333

Your Mileage May Vary -- Always!

User avatar
berto
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Posts: 1386
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:13 pm
Location: Oak Park, IL, USA

Berto's Weathers Mod v0.3

Fri Jun 24, 2011 7:08 pm

November 1763, modded weather (as of v0.3):

Image

North cold, south warm. Looking good!
What this town needs is a good Renaissance band!

Early MusiChicago - Early Music in Chicago and Beyond - http://earlymusichicago.org

PIKT - Global-View, Site-at-a-Time System and Network Administration - http://pikt.org

AGElint - an AGE debugging toolkit - http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2978333

Your Mileage May Vary -- Always!

User avatar
berto
AGEod Guard of Honor
Posts: 1386
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:13 pm
Location: Oak Park, IL, USA

Berto's Weathers Mod v0.3

Fri Jun 24, 2011 7:09 pm

December 1763, modded weather (as of v0.3):

Image

North cold, south warm, warmer along the coast. Still looking good!
What this town needs is a good Renaissance band!

Early MusiChicago - Early Music in Chicago and Beyond - http://earlymusichicago.org

PIKT - Global-View, Site-at-a-Time System and Network Administration - http://pikt.org

AGElint - an AGE debugging toolkit - http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2978333

Your Mileage May Vary -- Always!

User avatar
berto
AGEod Guard of Honor
Posts: 1386
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:13 pm
Location: Oak Park, IL, USA

Berto's Weathers Mod v0.3

Fri Jun 24, 2011 7:09 pm

March 1764, modded weather (as of v0.3):

Image

To the south, any Snow/Frozen areas are all uplands only (Mountain or Wilderness). A quilt, but not crazy.
What this town needs is a good Renaissance band!

Early MusiChicago - Early Music in Chicago and Beyond - http://earlymusichicago.org

PIKT - Global-View, Site-at-a-Time System and Network Administration - http://pikt.org

AGElint - an AGE debugging toolkit - http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2978333

Your Mileage May Vary -- Always!

User avatar
berto
AGEod Guard of Honor
Posts: 1386
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:13 pm
Location: Oak Park, IL, USA

Berto's Weathers Mod v0.3

Fri Jun 24, 2011 7:10 pm

I am going to proceed to playing some test games with these revised Weathers files. There will surely be more tweaks. But good enough for now.

Oh, and permit me this:

A bit of background ...

I have been critical of AGEOD games in the past. (I still am, but more on that in a moment ...) Critical to the point where I didn't want to play them any more.

But, given my recent survey of the alternatives (see http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?t=21864), I now have a better appreciation of the AGE system's virtues. And I am reminded of every other game's, and game company's, faults.

I could spend all of my gaming days playing WITP:AE (perhaps the finest game ever), but I'd much rather immerse myself in the AGEOD gaming worlds than rehash WWII Pacific Theater in such excruciating detail. And WITP:AE is by no means perfect, let me tell you.

My "Life-Long Dream Comes True" games -- the HPS American Civil War series -- disappointed me terribly, because the AI sucks so badly, but more so because command-and-control, except rudimentarily, is essentially absent. I am not prepared to give up on those games, so I have taken to modding them (graphics, game play overlay, house rules, etc.).

I am not prepared to abandon AGEOD, or its games, either. So, rather than complain and complain and wait (possibly forever) for Phil & Phil or somebody else (coordinator, modder, whatever) to fix what I deem broken, I will take personal responsibility to fix things myself, to my own liking, to my own way of thinking, to my own standards of "perfection". Do-It-Yourself'ing -- it's really quite liberating. I'm ready to craft my own highly personalized, private version of WIA and the other AGEOD games, if that's what makes me happy. Beats griping and feeling endlessly miserable. (I'm still tempted sometimes to just give up on gaming altogether, though, I must admit.)

So, my Berto's WIA Weathers mod embodies my new Can Do! spirit.

Hmm, I think I should add to my Forum signature: Your Mileage May Vary. Always!
What this town needs is a good Renaissance band!

Early MusiChicago - Early Music in Chicago and Beyond - http://earlymusichicago.org

PIKT - Global-View, Site-at-a-Time System and Network Administration - http://pikt.org

AGElint - an AGE debugging toolkit - http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2978333

Your Mileage May Vary -- Always!

User avatar
berto
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Posts: 1386
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:13 pm
Location: Oak Park, IL, USA

Weather Areas

Mon Jun 27, 2011 9:01 pm

I definitely think that some region reassignments among the different weather areas is called for.

In general, I think that weather in WIA (and other AGEOD games) is too granular -- especially since we deal in 15-day and 30-day turns, so weather areas should represent mid-term averages.

That implies probably fewer weather areas, too.

Work on these reassignments and reorganizations will commence in the days (and weeks) ahead.

For reference, and for better visualization, images of the various land weather areas follows.
What this town needs is a good Renaissance band!

Early MusiChicago - Early Music in Chicago and Beyond - http://earlymusichicago.org

PIKT - Global-View, Site-at-a-Time System and Network Administration - http://pikt.org

AGElint - an AGE debugging toolkit - http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2978333

Your Mileage May Vary -- Always!

User avatar
berto
AGEod Guard of Honor
Posts: 1386
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:13 pm
Location: Oak Park, IL, USA

Weather Areas

Mon Jun 27, 2011 9:04 pm

The Canadian weather areas (Canadian_Maritimes, Eastern_Canada, Western_Canada).

I really don't think we need so many. Some consolidation and simplification is in order, IMO.

Image

Image

Image
What this town needs is a good Renaissance band!

Early MusiChicago - Early Music in Chicago and Beyond - http://earlymusichicago.org

PIKT - Global-View, Site-at-a-Time System and Network Administration - http://pikt.org

AGElint - an AGE debugging toolkit - http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2978333

Your Mileage May Vary -- Always!

User avatar
berto
AGEod Guard of Honor
Posts: 1386
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:13 pm
Location: Oak Park, IL, USA

Weather Areas

Mon Jun 27, 2011 9:06 pm

The Great Lakes weather areas (Eastern_Great_Lakes, Western_Great_Lakes).

I might reassign the Eastern Lake Huron and Ontario regions to the Eastern Great Lakes area (or even possibly the (Western_)Canada area).

Image

Image
What this town needs is a good Renaissance band!

Early MusiChicago - Early Music in Chicago and Beyond - http://earlymusichicago.org

PIKT - Global-View, Site-at-a-Time System and Network Administration - http://pikt.org

AGElint - an AGE debugging toolkit - http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2978333

Your Mileage May Vary -- Always!

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