0.8x AI Faction Progression

[GiantMonkeyMan]

this is from my current game in 255bc. I'm sarmatia.

[blank]

I play unmodded 0.8

[Casuir]

But he has those stone walls for Prom's cities - we can't get those to work now. I'd love to know why they work there but not in ours.

They worked for me when I copied them from the eb folder to the root one.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Hmm. I just did that though Casuir, and I don't get them - I get wood textures on the stone walls instead. Well, Sarcasm is trying to figure this out now for us. Let's hope he can handle it.

[Zaknafien]

Thats wierd TA mine work when I just move them into the vanilla data folder like those above did..

[Casuir]

Are you sure you're looking at the right walls, theres 5 seperate models two of which are wooden ones which look like stone:


Other than that the only thing i can think of is to make sure you've copied over the textures folder along with the models, they reference a different named textuue than anything else though so I cant see any conflict there unless they're using a default texture.

If you are going to use them theres some discrepancies that occur when you just copy them, greek cities use the new cities and wooden models but the stock stone walls, and barbarian factions will get them if they capture a city with stone walls then upgrade it to a large city. Not sure what you'd do about that without new barb cities but it looks kinda funny. I'd recommend downsizing the textures they use as well, 1024*1024 is totally unneccessary for a model that size, all you're going to see is the lowest 2 mipmaps at most and the rest is just a waste of memory.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Ok. Thanks guys. I think I see the problem with what I was doing. Sarcasm may have these ready for the next patch. We really would love to get someone to help with the barb and eastern cities though. Any takers? Modellers?

[-Praetor-]

I was just hoping that they look something like this: (The barb. ones)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Hope you have time though, I realize that you`ve got more prioritary things to do.

Cheers!!!

PS: Any way to contact Prometheus? Off course, he should have the models for the Greek settlements (yes, he did some for the greeks too) and the Barb ones... the only ones that he didn`t made, IIRC, were the eastern ones....

The nomadic ones are an entirely different story.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

We would love them too, but Prom hadn't released a version of RG with those barb cities yet when we asked him, so we never got access to them. I don't think one yet has been released with them.

[Bava]

sorry to interrupt your conversation, guys


Makedonia campaign, 239 BCE, H/H, BI-exe with Oleo´s africa wars edit (it works!).









It seems that the expansion of smaller factions like the Sauromatae is seriously hampered by rebels like this. 3 1/2 stacks for one settlement is too much for them
The towns left in arabia look the same, btw.

[Cheexsta]

Here's my current Romani campaign, I've actually advanced past this point by quite a bit so I'll get an updated pic soon. It is using the BI.exe, playing on M/M.

250BC:


230BC:


The Punic Wars were long and drawn-out. The 1st Punic War started when Roman armies took control of Massilia; the Carthaginians took this as an act of aggression and launched an attack on Campania, but were quickly repelled. Lilybeo was taken without too much of a headache, but the subsequent Roman assault on Sardinia and Corsica was significantly harder as Carthaginian reinforcements kept the invaders at bay. Eventually a ceasefire arrangement was made with Rome being given legal control of the islands.

The 2nd Punic War started with surprisingly historical triggers. Rome became allies with an Iberian tribe, the Edetani (ie I took over Arse and gave it a type 4 govt). Not a year later and the two empires were at war again; Carthage landed a full stack on each of Sardinia and Corsica, while the Roman Legion in Iberia, led by none other than Caius Aurelius Cotta Africanus from the 1st Punic War, faced off with another Carthaginian army there (neither side attacked as they each had strong defensive positions). Both islands were conquered by Carthage, leading to bloody conflict with Rome attempting to recapture them. Peace was finally reached when Africanus defeated two large Punic armies in Iberia and captured Mastia and Gader, before sailing back to take the islands that had been lost.

Polybian Reforms went without a problem just as my 2nd Punic War ended and the Iberian Wars started. The Ptolemies are expanding quite well, but the remaining Seleukid towns are too well-fortified so they should survive for a while longer. Baktria has started snapping up rebel provinces, especially since most of those "immobile" Eleutheroi generals have died from old age.

Elsewhere, a new Gallic confederacy seems to have arisen in the Bituriges; three full Eleutheroi stacks from neighbouring regions have gathered and seem to be threatening Aedui and Averni expansion (although they haven't really been trying anyway...).

Speaking of rebels, it would make a good addition to the mod to have the script drop an Eleutheroi family member into any rebel cities that have none. This would help stop the AI's explosion of conquest at around the 230BC mark when all those starting generals die and allow their armies to go wandering.

More to come...

[Justiciar]

Wow. The Ptolemaioi are really wiping the floor with Arche Seleukeia there.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Speaking of rebels, it would make a good addition to the mod to have the script drop an Eleutheroi family member into any rebel cities that have none. This would help stop the AI's explosion of conquest at around the 230BC mark when all those starting generals die and allow their armies to go wandering.

I have been thinking the same thing. Is it possible to script in new leaders to cities that lose theirs? (Or at some date kill all those that are still alive and dump in new one in every town, so as to insure there is at least one space in every town.)

[hafensaengerx]

I'm playing with 1.5 exe and thinking about playing with bi.exe.

Is bi much better? And what about bribing? Does AI still bribe so much with bi exe? Think I ve heard something about it?

[Radier]

Playing as Casse on M/M the Romans was wiped out in about 20 years. Is there any chance for them to reappear?

[Bava]

I'm playing with 1.5 exe and thinking about playing with bi.exe.Is bi much better?

jugde yourself:







I nearly fell of my chair when i saw that.


Fear teh Might of the BI-exe!

[Gazius]

I'm playing with 1.5 exe and thinking about playing with bi.exe.

Is bi much better? And what about bribing? Does AI still bribe so much with bi exe? Think I ve heard something about it?

The AI tries to bribe me, but I've never seen any success come from it. Also, the naval invasions in BI work so well, I want to know if:

Can I remove land bridges from the middle of a game? At this point I don't think it's fair for the AI to waltz over any place they like. They have boats. They can invade, they don't need no stinkin' land bridges.

[Oleo]

Macedon campaign 250 BC

230 BC:



210 BC:



- Sweboz started expanding big time, after I gave him a couple of 100000 Mnai and bribed them a 3rd and 4th city

- Casse started expanding after giving them 100000.

- Sauromatae still havent done anything with the 300000 I gave them.

I had way to much money, I figured I give something away .

- Seleucids are getting owned and are protectorate of Saba, I didnt touch them except for Sardis and Ipsus when they betrayed me.

- I gave Ptolemais-Theron (Erithrea) and Bostra to Saba, cause I didnt want it to be ptolemy and I didnt want them for myself.

-Saka was about to be destroyed 5 years earlier, I guess baktria screwed up and lost two cities back to them

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Radier - please post pics of your minimap (fog of war off so we can see)! Romans are very rarely (very) defeated like that - but we'd love to see proof of it.

--------------------
Oleo - a very interesting set of pics.
-I love that getai empire
-the Carthaginians taking over all of iberia is good to see sometimes
-I also love that Baktrian empire and the way the parthians have expanded into their own empire in the right place (if they could continue to knock out the seleukids and even some soutwest baktrians that'd be great)

[Constantine the Great]

Wow, thats the first I've seen of Getai actually doing stuff.

[Moros]

Radier - please post pics of your minimap (fog of war off so we can see)! Romans are very rarely (very) defeated like that - but we'd love to see proof of it.

--------------------
Oleo - a very interesting set of pics.
-I love that getai empire
-the Carthaginians taking over all of iberia is good to see sometimes
-I also love that Baktrian empire and the way the parthians have expanded into their own empire in the right place (if they could continue to knock out the seleukids and even some soutwest baktrians that'd be great)

He defeated them, not an AI faction.

[Kugutsu]

Playing Hayasdan, at about 245BC.


Casse: Not really doing much. Have a stack, but its just sitting there.

Sweboz: Again, not much action here.

Aedui: Fighting hard against the Romans. Also have Dalminion in the Balkans and Ankyra, but Epeiros is seiging the former and the Seleukids are about to take the latter.

Arverni: The Romans have all but crushed them. One city left, and a single stack of army. I doubt they'll last much longer.

Lusotann: No action here that I can see, not even an army. They seem to be sitting in their city with 4 units, 2 of them generals...

Rome: Heavy expansion into gaul. They have about 10 armies rampaging round france, and are really pushing the gauls hard. They are currently allied to the Carthaginians, though it wont be long before they meet in Spain...

Carthage: Working their way up through Spain. I think they are also trying to take Kyrene, but with no success so far.

Epeiros:Together with KH they have pushed the Macedonians to Lesbos. They are wading through the Balkans city by city.

KH: Helped the Epeirots push the Macs out of Greece, but seem to have stalled now.

Getai: Not doing anything.

Ptolomaics: Part of the three way anti-Seleukid alliance. Turkey and the middle-east change hands about twice a decade...

Saba: Also part of the anti-Seleukid alliance. Strong presence in Palmyra, gaurding the Ptolies flank, allowing them to concentrate on Antioch and Turkey.

Pontus: Have stayed pretty neutral in the regional troubles, snapping up the coastal cities of Sinope and Nikaia. Will probably try Pergamon next if they remain true to form.

Sauromatai: Have gained a couple of provinces in the north, but seem to be so debt ridden that they cant afford any troops or buildings. I relieved them of Kabalaka through bribery (they are my allies, after all, so I didnt want to attack them) and they had built very little there.
Parthia. Battling with Bactria. Coming off worse...

Saka: Not doing a great deal.

Bactria: Quite a powerhouse in the east. Still allied to Seleukia, not sure how, as they have about 5 full stacks sitting near Seleukid cities... A full stack marching through India, and about 5 in the north, either heading for Sulek, or attacking Parthia.

Seleukids: Insanely powerful and rich. They are sending armies of Argyraspidai and Kataphracts against me, and are holding against the combined armies of the Ptolies and the Saba to the south. They lost most of the near east to the Ptolies, but have since won it back and are counterattacking in Turkey. They also have 3 full stacks wandering round Arabia, which may come as a nasty shock to the Saba...

Hayasdan: I am expanding nicely in the Caucasian mountains. Am allied to Sauromatae, as I have no interest in going north, and the Ptolies and Saba as part of a three way alliance to counter the Seleukids. Im about to launch an invasion of the plain once I have gathered my armies for a counter-offensive...

One thing I am pleasantly surprised by is the stability of alliances. Rome and Carthage have been alied for a while, and are carving western europe between them, Epeiros and KH allied to oust the Macedonians in Greece and our little triple-entente has helped each other out of tight spots on quite a few occasions. The Ptolies and the Saba are particularly close, rescuing each other quite frequently from the Seleukids, and not squabbling over the middle east as I would have expected.

[Conqueror]

Kart-Hadast campaign @ 229 BC.

Eastern Mediterranean:

The Makedonians were on the brink of destruction when I decided to intervene in the war in Greece (partly because I wanted to snatch Rhodos for myself but didn't want to lose trade with southern Greece, so KH hegemony there was against my interests). I built an elite invasion army and, using Krete as a base, launched a naval invasion which took the city states completely by surprise. In a quick succession I seized poorly defended Korinthos and Sparte, and handed their governance over to the Makedonians. Then I destroyed two KH armies near Athenai before withdrawing back to Krete. The KH were unable to recover from this shock and the Makedonians went on the offensive, while I sailed over to my real target, Rhodos. Soon the only free polis worth note was Athenai, which became protectorate to Makedonia. Now both Athenai and Makedonia are my allies and trade is flowing nicely, though occationally interrupted by Ptolemaic fleets that blockade my ports. The Maks have even strenghtened to a point where they are doing progress agains the Epirote empire - they just recently took Pella back, having lost it very early in the game.

Speaking of Ptolemaioi, they are clearly the most powerful faction in the game. The Seleukids are almost completely finished off and I doubt that any other AI faction will be able to resist the onslaught of the Ptolemaic juggernaut. They declared war on me soon after capturing Kyrene and I am spending my time building up for a massive attack. It'll be a real clash of titans when I'll take the fight to Egypt, although I have no idea how I could possibly hold on to those huge cities on the Nile. I fear it'll turn into a sick extermination fest like none the world has seen

Western Mediterranean:

The Lusotannan are no more. During the entire game they had done absolutely nothing, save for futile attacks on Sucum-Murgi with far too small armies while most of their troops sat on their behinds in Oxtraca. I foolishly though that I could conquer them, boy was i wrong. I did destroyed them as a faction, but it turned out that Oxtraca was completely uncontrollable despite being exterminated *twice*. In the end, the underdeveloped town just wasn't worth the effort to keep it so I abandoned it to the hapless rebels. I took over Sucum-Murgi myself (which actually submitted like an obedient puppy despite being much larger in population than Oxtraca...) but it's questionable how long I can hold on to it. There are some BIG scary rebel stacks wandering in Carpetania.

The romani have been kicked out of Italy. It was bound to happen as soon as I lost interest in actively thwarting the Epirotes with spies and assassins. They have remained my faithful ally since the beginning of the game, no punic wars in this one. It'll be interesting to see how much longer they manage to hold on.

Elsewhere

Sabyn are doing surprisingly well, while Baktrians have a crazy empire stretching (and bending) from the Persian coast to the western steppes. They appear to have no interest in going to India, or it could simply be that the rebels are too strong in there. Getain seem to have done a bit of expanding and Sweboz look to be doing nicely, if not quite spectacularly. The celtic factions and Armenia & Pontos aren't much to speak of. Pahlava is now providing a buffer zone between the Ptolemies and Baktrians.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

He defeated them, not an AI faction.

Did he? As the Casse in 20 years I would think that a challenge. He didn't say that he did it that I saw - just that the Romans "were" destroyed. Was there a map somewhere?

Either way, the answer is 'no'. They can't reappear if they've been wiped out.

[Casuir]

Just 10 years from the last, turns are getting longer and time to play shorter. Audei driven out of Gaul, Lusotan took their hands out of their pockets and drove carthage almost out of iberia. Ptolomy looking very scary, Selecuids wiped out about two years after this.

[paullus]

some of these campaigns look truly awesome. the baktrians generally seem to be doing pretty well by the late 3rd c.

internal rebellions might make the ptolemies less effective expanding into syria...

[Zero1]

Wow!

Look at the size of that Bactrian expansion, if they move down south east into Persia they could very well become even more powerful then the Ptolemies

[Barnabas]

As Pontos, 253bc running under BI.exe on VH (campaign) and M (battles)



Makedon I'm currently allied with the Makedons, who would be doing even better if it wasn't for me checking their Eastward expansion by bribery and forcing revolts, and by "encouraging" them to war with the Seleucids when they were strong. The Makedons seem to be trying to expand north, as they are allied with the Epirotes and haven't been able to break the backs of the KH.

Seleucia has lost nearly all of her holdings in Asia Minor thanks to attacks from Makedon, the Ptolemies, and myself. I've incited a few revolts to form a neutral zone between the Seleucids and myself, and the rebels have held on to their cities nicely so far. Selucia is currently launching a major counter-offensive in the Middle-East, and perhaps will capture several coastal cities south of Antioch (which for the moment is safe).

Makedon, the Ptolemies, Baktria, Pontus (myself), and the Hadastin are all allied against this once great nation. Seleucia has been tough to break. I think she would've gained territories over all if it were not for my concerted efforts in Asia Minor, and some heroics of the Ptolemies (good allies so far).

Romani Slow and steady northward expansion at the loss of the Audei, who are about to lose their southern holdings. It took the Romani until very recently to take Southern Italy from the Epirotes.

Epirotes This kingdom is doing quite well against the rebels to the north. The Illyrian rebels were no match for them, and they soon will have two provinces bordering the Romani.

KH They are doing well just to not have been eliminated. They actually expanded to a city in Asia Minor across the sea in the first 5 years, but Makedon took that posession away from them.

Lusotana, the Getai, Casse, Saromatai, Sweboz, and Hadastin are all surrounded by strong Rebel cities with at least a full stack in each. None have done anything all game. They might as well be rebel cities themselves...

Saba This kingdom looks stronger than they really are. They are at peace with their two neighbors. If that changes, expect them to get wiped out.

Baktria
Yet again, this faction is doing very, very well. They are about to take two more provinces from the rebels, and are causing the Seleucids to have headaches at their northern border. Poor Seleucids.

[Imperator]

it seems like the Baktrians are a little too powerful, which causes them to smoke the Selukids, weakening them so that the Ptolomies become uber, and the East becomes a Baktrian-Ptolomy playground-maybe nerf Baktria so Selukia can hold their own against the two of them?

Also, those giant rebels are sorta cramping the smaller factions, maybe the Eleutheroi's cash should be lowered a bit so these factions have a real chance?

But otherwise the balance in the West Med. seems sound (Lussotonan aren't exactly empire-forging, but they really shouldn't be either) and the Romani and Quarthadastim often seem to wind up being the major powerhouses, with the Gauls and Spaniards cought in the middle- so all in all seems like a good balance!

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Some seleukid garrisons are better in the east in the next patch. But we would love for the parthian provinces to rebel sometimes. We've tried all we can to get Bakria to go towards India, but India does need good garrisons too. It's all so difficult to get perfectly right with some units still up in the air and unfinished.