Hi Folks,
I spent the past couple months developing a new mod of "Steampunk 1915" called "Steampunk Advanced"
It is essentially the same map as the original, but I have created many new, interesting units and fixed some of the glitches in the original. See below for the list of changes and upgrades.
I am hoping people will download this and send feedback on potential future improvements. I am worried about balance issues, as well as general feedback on the new units. I have done many playthroughs and find it more interesting and challenging than the original. Lucky hits on the tech tree... can move a game in new direction (or unbalance it). Interested to see what the community thinks.

1. New Units:
   I went nuts adding a bunch of new units. Sometimes I reused icons (in the unit folder) the original creator never used.. tried to imagine what he was envision here and put it in action.
   France: I added landship, land Leviathan and "heat ray tripod" to this country "Heat ray tripod is a massively expensive unit I created here... 4 hitpoints, 6 offense/Defence" and artillery support for 6 other units.. looks cool and costs 35 points
   USA: I added landship, land leviathan, guerilla (a new conscript like cavalry) and dreadnaught (swiped from England)
   Alliance: I added a two hit "mecha" unit (the original author had this in the units folder but did not use it) also land leviathan and gave them battleship purchasing rights
   Austria: added land leviathan
   Turkey: added "bombard" unit.. basically a big, two hit siege gun
   Britain: Added "heat ray tripod"
   Russia: Added landship and land leviathan units.. also added a cheap suicide unit (Penal battalion) simiar to gas.. but cheaper and not as powerful
   Germany: Added a two hit "steam walker" unit as well as a new relatively cheap and powerful two hit submarine (deutchland) and of course "heat ray tripod" (all major powers should have this!)
   Communists: The commies succeeded in stealing the Frankenstein tech from Austria and made their own army of zombie-fied Trotsky soldierssimilar to the undead qualities of Frankenstein
   Lastly I made sure every country had light, "regular" and heavy tanks.
2. Error Correction:
   Scotia and Goa were both "0" production, despite having factories. I made these both "2"
   Aviatrix unit could not land on carriers, despite manual indicating so.. corrected this.
   Alliance could not purchase assassin units (despite being in initial placement).. corrected this.
   The "Nautilus-hit" icon did not match the undamaged one (two different unit icons!)... and other two hit units did not have a "hit" unit counterpart.. which I corrected. I spent a good deal of time airbrushing little smoking fires on these using Paint.net.
   I fixed the Propaganda tech bug, where units keep being produced even though the capital has fallen (by fixed, I mean I stole the code from the correction to Domination 1914, as this map inherited the problem)
3. Debatable Enhancements and/or error correction:
   Colonial and Sniper units now upgrade to two movement with Mobile Warfare. I think it is kind of pointless if a support unit (sniper) cant keep up with their main unit. Shouldn't a colonial (as elite) be able to upgrade? I think so. However an early lucky hit on this tech could really unbalance the game perhaps?
   Upgraded "Tesla" cannon to movement 2 with railway gun tech (see above).
   I did a bunch of anal retentive cosmetic corrections like making sure the units for all the nations point in the same direction (left or right). I also tried to correct the "hue" of each of these units so the colors are as close as possible. I am not an artist here.. it is better than before but still not perfect. I also fixed and added a ton of unit icons (mostly lifted and recolorized from other Triplea maps). Some of the icons were exactly the same for each nation.. I tried to add a flag or otherwise differentiate.
   Also made sub, dreadnaught, and carrier upgrade to +4 movement with merchant marine tech.. otherwise you leave half your fleet behind. (again and early lucky hit on this tech could really unbalance perhaps.
4. Controversial Changes (maybe):
   Okay, I love the concept of the original Steampunk 1915.. fantastic! However, I hate the overuse of cartoonish unit icons for the standard units (i.e. infantry, etc). I tried to strike a balance by using "standard" icons for "regular units" and more decorative ones for special units. I don't want to destroy the "steampunk" feel.. but sometimes "less is more"
5. Future upgrades planned:
   Bug fix: There is something odd with the "Guadalcanal" territory as it doesnt seem to reliably change color on capture. I think there is a fix for this in Steampunk 1915, which I will port over
   Manual upgrade: I would love to get my hands on the non-pdf version of the game manual so I can modify it to reflect my changes.

Hi All,

I love this map and mod! However, I am making a few changes:

1. Making "Merchant Marine" tech add +2 to carriers, subs and dreadnaught
2. Fixing the fact that Aviatrix can't land on carriers
3. Adding landships and Land Leviathan to other countries (maybe all?) as I really love the new units

Questions is there any interest in these changes or others? Interested to hear the community's ideas.

@RogerCooper Hi Roger, Actual Cernel answered my question for me. I had inadvertently left some of the original authors units in the unit folder. That is why they were appearing in "unit help". I think my version is ready to go.

@Lord-Bevan The PDF Manual in the Map folder has the techs listed out. I pretty much left the tech tree alone with the exceptions of the slight changes I mention in the original post. I see someone has responded with the location of the original manual, so will work on getting this updated.

@LaFayette

Hmm. that is a good point. The original PDF manual is pretty cool, and was a lot of work. However, it is pretty annoying to have a stand alone companion manual that you need to play the game. I think I can move most of this over to the game notes as you suggest. I will put this on the list for version 2.0.

@Lord-Bevan Penal battalions cannot take territory but can attack by themselves. This is the same as "Assassin unit" but different than gas (gas must have support)

@Lord-Bevan Hi, I'm not sure what you are talking about to be honest. My statements about Penal battalions are correct. These are a 0 hit point, Gas unit(see below). Normal "Gas" has 5/0/2 stat and costs 3, this unit (meant to give Russia a unique boost) is a 3/0/2 stat and costs 1. Yes that is cheap.. but the attack is much weaker and Russia has limited factory output and must defend on two fronts. A "spam Penal" strategy is risky because of the weaker attack here, and the fact it would steal production needed for troops. Have you actually done a play through of this game and found my logic unsound?

<attachment name="unitAttachment" attachTo="penal" javaClass="games.strategy.triplea.attachments.UnitAttachment" type="unitType">
<option name="movement" value="2"/>
<option name="transportCost" value="1"/>
<option name="attack" value="3"/>
<option name="defense" value="0"/>
<option name="isSuicide" value="true"/>

1. Regarding 1 PU unit (assume you are talking about Penal battalions). This is a 0 defense suicide unit similar to gas (can't gain or hold territory), but attacks much weaker (only 3). Due to low production values of Russian territory and overall weaker attack, I think the risk of "penal battalion spam" is low.

2. Regarding the weakness of Austria. I tend to agree that this is a problem (but it was inherited from the original game as I didn't change any territory values or unit dispositions). Do you think if I built up a "Maginot line"-like ring of bunkers around the Austrian border.. this would give them time to build up forces against the French and Alliance? Another option might be give Austria another factory further East and bump up a couple territory values. Yet another option might be to give Austria a single "Land Leviathan" multi-hit point unit at start... (must still roll tech to build more). This could give them more of a fighting chance.

@LaFayette

Hmm. that is a good point. The original PDF manual is pretty cool, and was a lot of work. However, it is pretty annoying to have a stand alone companion manual that you need to play the game. I think I can move most of this over to the game notes as you suggest. I will put this on the list for version 2.0.

@LaFayette I was actually talking about the very specific manual that the original author made for Steampunk 1915 (the base game I modded). It is in the Map folder. You can tell there was a lot of work put into this! I converted this PDF to Word with an online tool, and will start to chip away at updating it. It is still useful as it explains the background of the game, the tech tree (as per Lord Bevans query) and some of the units. It definitely needs to be update with the new units I inserted. I am hoping to get some feedback on the general game, make any needed tweaks or suggestions, update the manual, and then release a "SteamPunk Advanced" 2.0.

@Lord-Bevan The PDF Manual in the Map folder has the techs listed out. I pretty much left the tech tree alone with the exceptions of the slight changes I mention in the original post. I see someone has responded with the location of the original manual, so will work on getting this updated.

Hi Folks,
I spent the past couple months developing a new mod of "Steampunk 1915" called "Steampunk Advanced"
It is essentially the same map as the original, but I have created many new, interesting units and fixed some of the glitches in the original. See below for the list of changes and upgrades.
I am hoping people will download this and send feedback on potential future improvements. I am worried about balance issues, as well as general feedback on the new units. I have done many playthroughs and find it more interesting and challenging than the original. Lucky hits on the tech tree... can move a game in new direction (or unbalance it). Interested to see what the community thinks.

1. New Units:
   I went nuts adding a bunch of new units. Sometimes I reused icons (in the unit folder) the original creator never used.. tried to imagine what he was envision here and put it in action.
   France: I added landship, land Leviathan and "heat ray tripod" to this country "Heat ray tripod is a massively expensive unit I created here... 4 hitpoints, 6 offense/Defence" and artillery support for 6 other units.. looks cool and costs 35 points
   USA: I added landship, land leviathan, guerilla (a new conscript like cavalry) and dreadnaught (swiped from England)
   Alliance: I added a two hit "mecha" unit (the original author had this in the units folder but did not use it) also land leviathan and gave them battleship purchasing rights
   Austria: added land leviathan
   Turkey: added "bombard" unit.. basically a big, two hit siege gun
   Britain: Added "heat ray tripod"
   Russia: Added landship and land leviathan units.. also added a cheap suicide unit (Penal battalion) simiar to gas.. but cheaper and not as powerful
   Germany: Added a two hit "steam walker" unit as well as a new relatively cheap and powerful two hit submarine (deutchland) and of course "heat ray tripod" (all major powers should have this!)
   Communists: The commies succeeded in stealing the Frankenstein tech from Austria and made their own army of zombie-fied Trotsky soldierssimilar to the undead qualities of Frankenstein
   Lastly I made sure every country had light, "regular" and heavy tanks.
2. Error Correction:
   Scotia and Goa were both "0" production, despite having factories. I made these both "2"
   Aviatrix unit could not land on carriers, despite manual indicating so.. corrected this.
   Alliance could not purchase assassin units (despite being in initial placement).. corrected this.
   The "Nautilus-hit" icon did not match the undamaged one (two different unit icons!)... and other two hit units did not have a "hit" unit counterpart.. which I corrected. I spent a good deal of time airbrushing little smoking fires on these using Paint.net.
   I fixed the Propaganda tech bug, where units keep being produced even though the capital has fallen (by fixed, I mean I stole the code from the correction to Domination 1914, as this map inherited the problem)
3. Debatable Enhancements and/or error correction:
   Colonial and Sniper units now upgrade to two movement with Mobile Warfare. I think it is kind of pointless if a support unit (sniper) cant keep up with their main unit. Shouldn't a colonial (as elite) be able to upgrade? I think so. However an early lucky hit on this tech could really unbalance the game perhaps?
   Upgraded "Tesla" cannon to movement 2 with railway gun tech (see above).
   I did a bunch of anal retentive cosmetic corrections like making sure the units for all the nations point in the same direction (left or right). I also tried to correct the "hue" of each of these units so the colors are as close as possible. I am not an artist here.. it is better than before but still not perfect. I also fixed and added a ton of unit icons (mostly lifted and recolorized from other Triplea maps). Some of the icons were exactly the same for each nation.. I tried to add a flag or otherwise differentiate.
   Also made sub, dreadnaught, and carrier upgrade to +4 movement with merchant marine tech.. otherwise you leave half your fleet behind. (again and early lucky hit on this tech could really unbalance perhaps.
4. Controversial Changes (maybe):
   Okay, I love the concept of the original Steampunk 1915.. fantastic! However, I hate the overuse of cartoonish unit icons for the standard units (i.e. infantry, etc). I tried to strike a balance by using "standard" icons for "regular units" and more decorative ones for special units. I don't want to destroy the "steampunk" feel.. but sometimes "less is more"
5. Future upgrades planned:
   Bug fix: There is something odd with the "Guadalcanal" territory as it doesnt seem to reliably change color on capture. I think there is a fix for this in Steampunk 1915, which I will port over
   Manual upgrade: I would love to get my hands on the non-pdf version of the game manual so I can modify it to reflect my changes.

Since I play against the AI quite a bit.. would love this project to succeed as Hard AI is ridiculously slow on large maps/lots of units. Would like to contribute.. but have very little coding skill unfortunately. If you need testers or other basic help... let me know.

@RogerCooper Hi Roger, Actual Cernel answered my question for me. I had inadvertently left some of the original authors units in the unit folder. That is why they were appearing in "unit help". I think my version is ready to go.

Ah yes.. I see the problem. I have a local copy of the xml and "unit" folder for development purposes and I have simply been adding my new units to the existing folder in the actual game. I see the original author of this game did have these two units in the folder. If I move them out.. the problem is solved! Thanks. Also, I agree it would be better to look at production frontier, but minor problem. Thanks for the help. I think my new version is ready to release to the public.