So I've been modding in a new group of creatures that is smaller than a dwarf, but faster and essentially has a really hard shell and razor sharp teeth and claws. To that end I've given them their own material template for their flesh.
But it is IMPOSSIBLE to get it balanced how I want. What I'm aiming for is a 2:1 ratio of the new creatures vs a dwarf in iron equipment with an axe.
But even as much as changing a single digit of a material token swings the fight WILDLY. If I have [SHEAR_FRACTURE:200000] or [SHEAR_YIELD:130000] then the new creatures take forever to kill, so much that five of them are an even match with dwarves. If it's more than 5 on 5, it's a wash in the favor of the new creatures. They take tons of damage, for sure, all their parts are marked red, but they just don't die.
But if I lower those values by just one point to [SHEAR_FRACTURE:199999] and [SHEAR_YIELD:129999] then the dwarves kill them before I can count to 10. A few hits and the creatures bleed to death or are struck down.
And even if I change one of the values to 0, as long as the other one is above the threshold, my dwarves are powerless before them!
Now just as a gag on myself, I tried replacing the iron axes with steel ones and, sure enough, they turned the new creatures into mince meat even with the Shear Fracture and Shear Yield raised.
Is it really such an all or nothing affair? Do materials either effortlessly cut through each other or not at all? Please tell me I'm missing something that will fix my problems (and don't tell me Sheer Elasticity! That does nothing as far as I can tell. Setting it arbitrarily high did nothing to alter combat).