NFS UG2: The Smol Improvement

06/12/2020 UPDATE:
- potentially fixed the missing sponsor offers from S3 and onwards
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09/10/2020 UPDATE:
- remade all scripts to be contained in a single master script to be imported with Binary v2. v1-compatible version was also included for legacy purposes but is considered discontinued; both v1 and v2 contain the same changes and only their installation methods differ
IMPORTANT: once you install any mod with Binary v2, you will no longer be able to install anything with Binary v1, so stick to either, but v2 is highly recommended
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This is a little meme script I've knocked together in a matter of hours.
Its main intention is to largely improve the cash flow, allowing the players to finally utilise their 5 car slots, as well as introduce little quality of life tweaks to Underground 2.

Detailed change list as follows [split by script files taken from v1.6; v2 has them consolidated into one file]:

[_the_smol_improvement.end]
- all hidden races are now visible [this replicates the changes from Max's GlobalB mod]
- increased maximum amount of outrun events per stage, as well as their payouts
- increased maximum amount of active/visible races per stage [up to 6 races of the same type can now be seen on the world map AND interacted with]
- increased cash rewards given by all URL races
- slightly buffed Rachel's 350Z [just for laughs, not a major change]
- slightly increased base payouts for DVD covers and Magazines
- decreased the lap count for every URL race between 33% and 50% [if a race had 4 laps, it will now have 2; if a race had 3 laps, it will now have 2, etc]
- decreased the lap count for the final race with Caleb from 5 to 3

[_no_more_ricing.end]
- players are no longer required to rice their cars to progress; visual rating requirement for all DVD covers has been dropped to 0 so you can still fulfill sponsor objectives even if your car doesn't look like it crashed through an FnF movie set [note: you do NOT need a new savegame for this particular tweak to work]

[_circuit_tweaks.end]
- circuit races had their lap count tweaked; majority is now at 2 laps
- payouts for circuit races are contained in "_race_payouts.end", see below for details

[_sponsor_tweaks.end]
- made some significant adjustments to sponsors: signing bonuses and sponsored race wins were increased
- all sponsors belonging to the same stage give the same bonuses and pay the same amounts for their respective races; all you have to do is pick the races that you prefer the most, ie the ones that cause the least amount of hassle

[_race_payouts.end]
- adjusted payouts for 153 world races: circuits, drags, drifts, sprints, street X and SUV events had their bank increased based on current stage's sponsor race payout; eg if you're in stage 3, sponsor race will net you 1750 credits, so a standard race will pay 66% of that, and in case of SUV races - 80%; circuits received additional 30-120% boosts to these 1155 credits, with amount depending on their lengths and which stage they belong to
- overall, world race payouts were increased by a massive 70%, from 204k to 348k total possible earnings; this does not account for URLs and sponsor races, which have their boosts in different scripts

Anything else that isn't mentioned here has not been changed. I have no intention of messing with performance, cars, parts, regions, etc.

Installation for v2 [recommended]:
Get Binary V2 -> launch it [make sure you also installed its dependencies], click on User Mode [the left-hand side icon], select "user_install.end" inside "The Smol Improvement Scripts/v2", point to NFS UG2's main install directory, tick the box next to each of the 13 options you want to include, then wait for Binary to do its job, press "Yes" when asked to save changes; none of the changes require a new save game, meaning the scripts can be installed at any time

Installation for v1:
Get Binary V1 -> launch its Underground 2 database, Main -> Import -> Endscript, navigate to where you unpacked the script archive, go into "v1" folder, then choose the scripts that you want to use, press Install, wait for Binary to parse changes, then Main -> Save to apply the edits.

Credits:
NFS Binary development team for making this little time-waster of a script possible

Comments

tepid74714 (August 30, 2022 @ 15:46)

Very well-thought-out and nicely put together. Highly recommended.

Cage (November 11, 2021 @ 01:09)

Just played through the game and thought every single aspect this mod touched upon was improved drastically. Everything from payouts to lap counts just felt correct and balanced. This not-so-smol improvement is essential for anyone who values their time for gaming but still wants to enjoy completing NFSU2's career mode for the first time or out of nostalgia.
By far one of the best NFSU2 mods on this site.

Lexal (December 10, 2020 @ 10:59)

cool. if you're seeing 5 offers, which is the maximum anyway, then everything is working as intended

RevanFan (December 10, 2020 @ 00:38)

My average rep is 300 for each stage except 1, where it was 287.

Lexal (December 09, 2020 @ 17:19)

press T to view game stats, or whatever you set in the controls, then scroll down to average/total rep per stage. the adjustment I made nukes the requirements for all of the sponsors so they should be available for picking regardless of your average rep.