Rations

[Foundation]

I enjoy these logical discussions myself, the historical backing is great as well, but let's keep to the topic at hand.  We're trying to find a balanced conversion between rations and bushels in actual gameplay.

[JPierreD]

Why not make it 1 Ration = 1 Bushel?

[Zakilevo]

Yeah I think that is the simplest way. We should keep things simple as much as possible. Now the problem is how much can people carry around.

[pcw27]

In Battlemaster they aren't running around with a farm tool. The noble is paying for good equipment for the unit to use, they are used by the soldiers but not owned and we don't maintain the same equipment because after a noble's entire unit got wiped out and he barely made it out alive himself you can't expect him to have carried the equipment for 20 new men.

A farming tool is a lot more likely then full plate armor.

[Tom]

Why would it be affected by region population? 100 bushels of food is 100 bushels of food, no matter how many people live in the region.

It is the same in absolute values, but not the same in relative values.

For a small region, a large unit could carry away a considerable amount of their supply.

For a large region, a small unit could not carry enough that anyone would notice.

[Zakilevo]

Maybe we can also have choices between calling for requisition and buying food? Eventually influencing the new Honour/Prestige system?

[Tom]

Maybe we can also have choices between calling for requisition and buying food? Eventually influencing the new Honour/Prestige system?

Please do not complicate this idea.

Really. My patience on adding crap to simple feature requests is worn out. I'm an inch short of closing the entire feature requests board because it more and more becomes the place where good ideas go to die.

[Anaris]

Please do not complicate this idea.

Really. My patience on adding crap to simple feature requests is worn out. I'm an inch short of closing the entire feature requests board because it more and more becomes the place where good ideas go to die.

This is a big part of the reason for Rule 3 in the new feature request rules.

Based on that, people can bring up dozens of different stupid modifications to a good feature request, and as long as none of them get edited into the original post, we can safely ignore them entirely.

[vonGenf]

Based on that, people can bring up dozens of different stupid modifications to a good feature request, and as long as none of them get edited into the original post, we can safely ignore them entirely.

I hadn't seen it that way, but that's a great way of handling this. Sometimes I have an idea and I just want to throw it out there. I fully expect most of them won't get taken up, but this is still a discussion board, and I figure discussion should be encouraged.

[Tom]

It's a discussion board, but not a free-for-all board.

Rule #3 or not, I do not want to see feature request discussions going off on wild tangents. I really, really think we need to get a moderator in here who will mercilessly delete every single post that doesn't relate directly to the feature request.

[Anaris]

Then you may need to debug per-board mods.

[JPierreD]

Perhaps direct those posts to "Development" instead of to "Feature Requests"?

[acrandal]

I haven't thought that aspect through yet. Maybe. Maybe with a paraphernalia. I'm not really certain. I don't want to completely eliminate starvation for troops, just make it so you don't start to lose men the moment you cross the border.

I know this thread is wandering, but I wanted to suggest that the unit's ration limit could be raised by keeping carts around.  Caravans are on the way out (see: Dwilight/BT), but carts are still kicking about.  A unit has a suggested base (max) of 5 rations.  Each cart you're pulling about adds 5 more rations to the maximium (this 5 could be lower or higher for game balance).  When you buy them they start out empty, if you lose them any food goes with them.

Don't worry about cart "use" like wounded taking up space, etc.  Just give the ration max as (5 + 5 * carts) and run with it.

There's always been the requests for nobles to keep their units fed in famine regions kicking about.  A ration system is how armies operate anyway.

Regarding looting from battles: I suggest you just give every unit that survives the battle (winners and losers) +1 rations and be done with it.  Just assume soldiers are personally opportunistic and win or lose manage to rustle up some food one way or another.  That way you get a bonus for fighting and the devs don't have to work out another stats system for residual battlefields.

Regarding looting from regions: Looting granaries would reduce the regions' food stored 1 bushel per 1 ration looted.  Keep it simple and see how it goes for a while.

[JPierreD]

Tom, don't you think that carrying rations should make the unit slower? Could be a good reason for even a rich noble not to carry them around.

[Tom]

No, I don't think so.

I do like the idea of carts enlarging the amount of rations one can carry, and carts do slow down already, so you get it for free there.