bouis
03-26-2005, 01:33
The main thread for this mod is located on the RTR forum here. (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=25858)
Hannibal's War v1.0 by bouis Download Here! (http://www.datasync.com/~bouis/Hannibal's%20War%20by%20bouis%20V1.0.exe)
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Hannibal's War is a faction-specific mod for Rome Total Realism 5.4. It begins in 222 BC, and places the player in the role of twenty-six year-old Hannibal Barca, commander of the Carthaginian forces in Spain. The game duration is expected to be short -- less than sixty turns.
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Mod notes:
Hannibal's War features a highly-customized version of my Western Map originally based on linedog's, plus 22 new sprites covering all the units available to the player, as well as six new skins based on CA and RTR ones, a number of new unit cards done by me (and a few done by Li'xiao) and one new model. About thirty-five units have been added for the mod, but most are just variations on units you've seen before. Roughly fifty family members have been added. Much testing, positioning, and repositioning, has been done to convince the AI to behave how I believe it should and in such a way as to enhance the user's experience. Some of this you won't be expecting, so be careful not to assume the AI is as stupid as you may be used to. The rebels in Spain and Gaul have been carefully constructed, selected and positioned so that they're appropriate and interesting.
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Twenty years ago, she was humiliated by Rome, but a resurgent Carthage has made up for her losses with fresh conquests in Spain. Spain has been ruled almost as a personal empire, first by Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal's father, then by his brother-in-law Hasdrubal, and now finally Hannibal himself. While a source of great wealth and manpower, Spain is restive and far from subdued.
Carthage is not united behind Hannibal -- far from it. Corrupt aristocrats under Hanno control the home faction, and their support for a war is lukewarm at best. They would prefer to avoid it, as their graft goes unchecked in peacetime.
Across the sea Rome expands unchecked by her neighbors and grows bolder with each successive victory. In rapid succession it has subdued the Italians, Magna Gracia, Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, Illyricium and the Po Valley Gauls.
Its armies stand poised for further conquest. Roman ambition is endless and there is no question that another war with them is inevitable.
To defeat Rome will require a general who has not only mastered tactical skill, but also political resourcefulness and strategic vision. He must command the initiative, never resting, using what he can take, leaving what he can't, and resisting the urge to play it safe; despite his difficulties he must always advance, he must always attack, and he must always keep the enemy off balance.
Rome can be defeated.
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Gameplay notes:
Despite the eventuality of conflict with Rome, there are a number of paths the player a may take toward this ultimate goal. Time is of the essence, however, as Rome will move against Carthage quickly (and they won't wait for you to make the first move).
The player begins with three provinces in the south of Spain, with one large army under Hannibal and a smaller army of Spanish troops in Africa to aid in protecting Carthage. The army in Africa will not be able to hold out indefinitely. While there's a limited number of building options in such a short campaign, there are choices to be made. Choosing to expand your current mines in Spain is initially expensive, but could be worth it in the long run. Choosing to build the next tier of barracks or stables will get you better units.
Initially, he must choose whether to consolidate his holdings in Spain or to move directly against Rome. Hostile natives have massed in the west of the peninsula. Dealing with them could help protect Carthaginian Spain when Hannibal has to eventually leave the theater.
To the north lies a wealth of untapped silver, money to finance more armies, but at the risk of extending your defensive line too far.
To the east lies Saguntum. Conquering this area would allow paths to be cleared through this hostile wilderness, accelerating the advance on Rome.
When the decision is made to march on Rome, you'll have to decide who to take with you. You have three family members able to make the trip, but sending them all would be a mistake. A second stack of units won't be able to keep up without a family member, however, and even then they'll slow Hannibal down. It's up to you whether to bring African or Spanish troops; the Africans may be more useful against the Romans, but the fast-moving Spanish troops will be much more useful in constant skirmishing against barbarians.
There is another route across the Alps added for this mod, above the original western pass, and the thick forest along the coast has been removed. So there are three possible ways across; they're all dangerous, but for different reasons. Choose the path you think your army is most able to handle.
Once you arrive in the Po Valley you have the option of taking the northern Gallic settlement. If you can muster 12000 denarii, you should be able to bribe it. It could be prove invaluable to win these peoples' support against the Romans, whether it's by a golden bribe or by the sword.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Game mechanics notes:
Elephants can knock down wooden walls. Use this! But be careful, you only have a few elephants.
African reinforcements will appear (as mercenaries) every 5-7 years in southern Spain. Be on the lookout, because when they show up you'll really want to get them as soon as possible.
Many units are nearly worthless without a capable general. Keep this in mind.
You can retrain almost all the mercenaries you'll come across in this mod in your own barracks, so long as you're in that unit's native land.
You can only build spies and ships once you arrive in Italy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Installation notes: Download Here! (http://www.datasync.com/~bouis/Hannibal's%20War%20by%20bouis%20V1.0.exe)
Hannibal's War works best when installed over a fresh copy of RTR 5.4, but it will work fine on just about any version from 5.2 on up, including most mods you may have made yourself. The backup utility backs up your current files so there is no need to worry about it.
However, if you have made extensive personalizations to RTR, it is safest to install this mod over its own fresh RTR 5.4.1 install, so you don't have to worry about potential complications or user error losing your files.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Installation instructions:
1) Run the installer and choose the directory of your Rome - Total War install. This will copy the necessary files.
2) Optionally, if you wish to use LT1956, Horus, and SigniferOne's mod that fixes the AI backing off its swordsmen like cavalry, I have prepared the files for this. To use this, run the "#INSTALL - LTSANIMATIONS.bat" located in the #MODS directory in your Rome - Total Realism folder.
When you want to go back to RTR, run the "HannWar UN-installer.bat" file located in the Rome - Total War folder. Again this process may take a few minutes.
After going back to RTR, you may reinstall Hannibal's War by running the "HannWar Installer.bat" located in your Rome - Total War folder.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Updating your backups:
If there is any confusion as to whether or not you have RTR or Hannibal's War currently activated, you can simply run the installer or uninstaller, depending on which one you want to play. It will work fine, for example, if you have Hannibal's War installed, and run the "Hannwar Installer.bat" again.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Backup/Customization notes:
Be careful with the "HannWar BACKUP.bat" file. Once it is run it will move itself to the #MODS folder, and you should not need to run it again. Any changes you make to the RTR files or the Hannibal's War game files in the Data\ folder will be lost when you switch between them.
If at some point, however, you wish to update your backup files (say you've made changes to RTR or installed another mod after installing Hannibal's War), you must copy the "HannWar BACKUP.bat" file from the #MODS folder back into the Rome - Total War folder and execute it again.
If you wish to edit the Hannibal's War files, you should be aware that any changes you make will be lost when you switch between them. The way to avoid this is to copy your edited files into their proper places in the #MODS\#HANNWAR folder.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Victory Conditions:
1) Defeat Rome. You don't have to annihilate the Romans, but you must take the city of Rome, southern Italy, and Sicily.
2) Return to Africa and assume power in Carthage.
Optional (and suggested) Victory Conditions:
1) Hannibal Barca must survive. This means you have thirty years before you run the risk of him dying of old age.
2) Carthage must not fall to the Romans. You want a home to return to, don't you?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
House Rules:
1) You may not move against Carthage until Rome is defeated.
2) You may not make peace with any faction you begin at war with, especially Iberia or the Romans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Known Issues:
1) Very occasionally, ambushes take longer to load than regular battles. No idea why. They will eventually load, but it can take up to a full minute.
2) You'll need around 12k to bribe the PO valley Gallic settlement. Assuming it is unscathed, you'll get the city and two units of naked Gauls. This is as low as I could make the bribe after the 1.2 patch.
3) Auto resolve simply doesn't work properly in the game, and the problem is particularly bad in this mod.
4) Spies and ships are not available outside of Italy. To build these you must take cities in Italy or Sicily. This is not a bug!
5) The movement bonus for the Barca characters only works when the character starts the turn outside of a settlement. This is an RTW vanilla bug.
Enjoy! Comments/feedback: this thread or bouis (at) datasync (dot) com
Download Here! (http://www.datasync.com/~bouis/Hannibal's%20War%20by%20bouis%20V1.0.exe)
Hannibal's War v1.0 by bouis Download Here! (http://www.datasync.com/~bouis/Hannibal's%20War%20by%20bouis%20V1.0.exe)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Hannibal's War is a faction-specific mod for Rome Total Realism 5.4. It begins in 222 BC, and places the player in the role of twenty-six year-old Hannibal Barca, commander of the Carthaginian forces in Spain. The game duration is expected to be short -- less than sixty turns.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Mod notes:
Hannibal's War features a highly-customized version of my Western Map originally based on linedog's, plus 22 new sprites covering all the units available to the player, as well as six new skins based on CA and RTR ones, a number of new unit cards done by me (and a few done by Li'xiao) and one new model. About thirty-five units have been added for the mod, but most are just variations on units you've seen before. Roughly fifty family members have been added. Much testing, positioning, and repositioning, has been done to convince the AI to behave how I believe it should and in such a way as to enhance the user's experience. Some of this you won't be expecting, so be careful not to assume the AI is as stupid as you may be used to. The rebels in Spain and Gaul have been carefully constructed, selected and positioned so that they're appropriate and interesting.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Twenty years ago, she was humiliated by Rome, but a resurgent Carthage has made up for her losses with fresh conquests in Spain. Spain has been ruled almost as a personal empire, first by Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal's father, then by his brother-in-law Hasdrubal, and now finally Hannibal himself. While a source of great wealth and manpower, Spain is restive and far from subdued.
Carthage is not united behind Hannibal -- far from it. Corrupt aristocrats under Hanno control the home faction, and their support for a war is lukewarm at best. They would prefer to avoid it, as their graft goes unchecked in peacetime.
Across the sea Rome expands unchecked by her neighbors and grows bolder with each successive victory. In rapid succession it has subdued the Italians, Magna Gracia, Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, Illyricium and the Po Valley Gauls.
Its armies stand poised for further conquest. Roman ambition is endless and there is no question that another war with them is inevitable.
To defeat Rome will require a general who has not only mastered tactical skill, but also political resourcefulness and strategic vision. He must command the initiative, never resting, using what he can take, leaving what he can't, and resisting the urge to play it safe; despite his difficulties he must always advance, he must always attack, and he must always keep the enemy off balance.
Rome can be defeated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Gameplay notes:
Despite the eventuality of conflict with Rome, there are a number of paths the player a may take toward this ultimate goal. Time is of the essence, however, as Rome will move against Carthage quickly (and they won't wait for you to make the first move).
The player begins with three provinces in the south of Spain, with one large army under Hannibal and a smaller army of Spanish troops in Africa to aid in protecting Carthage. The army in Africa will not be able to hold out indefinitely. While there's a limited number of building options in such a short campaign, there are choices to be made. Choosing to expand your current mines in Spain is initially expensive, but could be worth it in the long run. Choosing to build the next tier of barracks or stables will get you better units.
Initially, he must choose whether to consolidate his holdings in Spain or to move directly against Rome. Hostile natives have massed in the west of the peninsula. Dealing with them could help protect Carthaginian Spain when Hannibal has to eventually leave the theater.
To the north lies a wealth of untapped silver, money to finance more armies, but at the risk of extending your defensive line too far.
To the east lies Saguntum. Conquering this area would allow paths to be cleared through this hostile wilderness, accelerating the advance on Rome.
When the decision is made to march on Rome, you'll have to decide who to take with you. You have three family members able to make the trip, but sending them all would be a mistake. A second stack of units won't be able to keep up without a family member, however, and even then they'll slow Hannibal down. It's up to you whether to bring African or Spanish troops; the Africans may be more useful against the Romans, but the fast-moving Spanish troops will be much more useful in constant skirmishing against barbarians.
There is another route across the Alps added for this mod, above the original western pass, and the thick forest along the coast has been removed. So there are three possible ways across; they're all dangerous, but for different reasons. Choose the path you think your army is most able to handle.
Once you arrive in the Po Valley you have the option of taking the northern Gallic settlement. If you can muster 12000 denarii, you should be able to bribe it. It could be prove invaluable to win these peoples' support against the Romans, whether it's by a golden bribe or by the sword.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Game mechanics notes:
Elephants can knock down wooden walls. Use this! But be careful, you only have a few elephants.
African reinforcements will appear (as mercenaries) every 5-7 years in southern Spain. Be on the lookout, because when they show up you'll really want to get them as soon as possible.
Many units are nearly worthless without a capable general. Keep this in mind.
You can retrain almost all the mercenaries you'll come across in this mod in your own barracks, so long as you're in that unit's native land.
You can only build spies and ships once you arrive in Italy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Installation notes: Download Here! (http://www.datasync.com/~bouis/Hannibal's%20War%20by%20bouis%20V1.0.exe)
Hannibal's War works best when installed over a fresh copy of RTR 5.4, but it will work fine on just about any version from 5.2 on up, including most mods you may have made yourself. The backup utility backs up your current files so there is no need to worry about it.
However, if you have made extensive personalizations to RTR, it is safest to install this mod over its own fresh RTR 5.4.1 install, so you don't have to worry about potential complications or user error losing your files.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Installation instructions:
1) Run the installer and choose the directory of your Rome - Total War install. This will copy the necessary files.
2) Optionally, if you wish to use LT1956, Horus, and SigniferOne's mod that fixes the AI backing off its swordsmen like cavalry, I have prepared the files for this. To use this, run the "#INSTALL - LTSANIMATIONS.bat" located in the #MODS directory in your Rome - Total Realism folder.
When you want to go back to RTR, run the "HannWar UN-installer.bat" file located in the Rome - Total War folder. Again this process may take a few minutes.
After going back to RTR, you may reinstall Hannibal's War by running the "HannWar Installer.bat" located in your Rome - Total War folder.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Updating your backups:
If there is any confusion as to whether or not you have RTR or Hannibal's War currently activated, you can simply run the installer or uninstaller, depending on which one you want to play. It will work fine, for example, if you have Hannibal's War installed, and run the "Hannwar Installer.bat" again.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Backup/Customization notes:
Be careful with the "HannWar BACKUP.bat" file. Once it is run it will move itself to the #MODS folder, and you should not need to run it again. Any changes you make to the RTR files or the Hannibal's War game files in the Data\ folder will be lost when you switch between them.
If at some point, however, you wish to update your backup files (say you've made changes to RTR or installed another mod after installing Hannibal's War), you must copy the "HannWar BACKUP.bat" file from the #MODS folder back into the Rome - Total War folder and execute it again.
If you wish to edit the Hannibal's War files, you should be aware that any changes you make will be lost when you switch between them. The way to avoid this is to copy your edited files into their proper places in the #MODS\#HANNWAR folder.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Victory Conditions:
1) Defeat Rome. You don't have to annihilate the Romans, but you must take the city of Rome, southern Italy, and Sicily.
2) Return to Africa and assume power in Carthage.
Optional (and suggested) Victory Conditions:
1) Hannibal Barca must survive. This means you have thirty years before you run the risk of him dying of old age.
2) Carthage must not fall to the Romans. You want a home to return to, don't you?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
House Rules:
1) You may not move against Carthage until Rome is defeated.
2) You may not make peace with any faction you begin at war with, especially Iberia or the Romans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Known Issues:
1) Very occasionally, ambushes take longer to load than regular battles. No idea why. They will eventually load, but it can take up to a full minute.
2) You'll need around 12k to bribe the PO valley Gallic settlement. Assuming it is unscathed, you'll get the city and two units of naked Gauls. This is as low as I could make the bribe after the 1.2 patch.
3) Auto resolve simply doesn't work properly in the game, and the problem is particularly bad in this mod.
4) Spies and ships are not available outside of Italy. To build these you must take cities in Italy or Sicily. This is not a bug!
5) The movement bonus for the Barca characters only works when the character starts the turn outside of a settlement. This is an RTW vanilla bug.
Enjoy! Comments/feedback: this thread or bouis (at) datasync (dot) com
Download Here! (http://www.datasync.com/~bouis/Hannibal's%20War%20by%20bouis%20V1.0.exe)