[Suggestion] Higher number of "commanders"(rank level [5]) for XCOM

[B1ackwolf]

Hi there! I've been pondering the feasibility of implementing multiple soldiers assigned to the maximum rank [5=commander] for different troop types. In my mod, the maximum rank represents a mid tier position in the military hierarchy, making it reasonable to have multiple "top-ranking officers" in each branch , especially as I've separated pilots, officers, and enlisted troops into different SOLDIER_TYPE categories.

Ideally, I envision having one Brigadier[5] for pilots, one Lt. Colonel[5] for officers, and one Sergeant Major[5] for enlisted troops and NCOs. It would be even better if we could specify that each soldier type requires a different set of previous rank strings to avoid scenarios like "sure, we could promote you to 'Staff Sergeant[4]' but there are currently too many 'Colonels[4]' in our roster, so, there are not any billets aviable"

Here's a crude picture of what i envisioned:

- type: STR_PILOT

  # bunch of stats

  rankStrings:
    - STR_2ND_LIEUTENANT
    - STR_1ST_LIEUTENANT
    - STR_AIR_CAPTAIN
    - STR_AIR_MAJOR
    - STR_AIR_COLONEL
    - STR_BRIGADIER
  soldiersPerCaptain[or whatever, just to represent a rank 2 unit]: 5
  soldiersPerMajor[3]: 10
  soldiersPerColonel[4]:  15
  soldiersPerBrigadier[5]: 20


I'm eager to hear your thoughts and if others find this concept useful or desirable. Do you think it's achievable within the game's limitations?"

[EttyKitty]

Hi. o/

In general I agree that the proposed "per soldierType rank caps", as well as separate rank pools, may be useful.

And if I understand correctly, overall this is a suggestion about improving a very limited ranking system customization and so also I had a very-very similar sounding suggestion lying around in my suggestions pile and because they are so similar, I think it's a good idea to write it down here, instead of creating another thread.

1. Customizable "rankGroup(s)".
Meaning that 10 dogs can have their own rank distribution pool and 10 soldier can have theirs.
Or 10 dogs + 10 cats can share the same animal ranking group and 10 soldiers + 10 auxiliaries the human ranking group.
Rn all of them will count as 20-40 units and the ranks will be distributed across all of them.
Specifying rankGroup(s) and their attributes can be done in the same file where other global stuff is sitting.

1.1 Custom rank distribution rules per rankGroup.
Same as "soldiersPerSergeant" and etc. but per rank group.

1.2 Custom rank amount per rankGroup.
Current "rankStrings", I think, allows to go bellow but not above.

A quick demo (only to represent the idea, not the actual syntaxis):

Spoiler:

Code: [Select]

rankGroups:
  - type: STR_ANIMAL_RANKS
    soldiersPerRank: [5, 10, 15, 20, 25] # the length of the list specifies the amount of ranks after the first one
    rankStrings:
      - STR_ANIMAL_RANK_0
      - STR_ANIMAL_RANK_1
      - STR_ANIMAL_RANK_2
      - STR_ANIMAL_RANK_3
      - STR_ANIMAL_RANK_4
      - STR_ANIMAL_RANK_5
soldiers:
  - type: STR_DOG
    rankGroup: STR_ANIMAL_RANKS
  - type: STR_CAT
    rankGroup: STR_ANIMAL_RANKS

That's generally just an idea. I'm not sure how needed for the rest of modders it will be, so I didn't want to create a thread for a long time, because the implementation probably is very time consuming and effectively is a creation of a new system.

Maybe your proposed suggestion is easier to implement and will suffice. But I do think that ranking system customization rn is very limited and needs to be tweaked at least a little bit.