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Thread: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

  1. #1
    Creator of the Medmod for M:TW Member WesW's Avatar
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    Default Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    The beta for the Medmod IV version 4.00 is now posted at my webpage. The castle pic at the bottom of this post is a link to it, as is the website button below that.
    The mod is divided into three portions. The Graphics portion must be installed before the Texts portion. The Maptex portion may be installed at anytime. Note that you do not need the large Maptex portion if you set your Strategic map resolution to 1024x768. Those of you using dail-up may appreciate this.

    The mod uses an executable pointed to the "Medieval - Total War" folder using the default game installation path. Previous versions of the Medmod were pointed at the "Total War" folder, which contains the MTW folder. If you did not use the default path, you will need to manually direct it to your corresponding MTW folder.
    During installation, you should get the standard message asking if you want to overwrite existing files, unless you have set your system not to ask that, of course. If you do not receive this message, it means that you have not directed the installer to the correct folder. There is a post in the old Medmod 4 thread from a player who said the beta was running correctly, so mis-directing the installer is the only thing I can think of which should cause the beta not to show up.
    Depending upon its time of the month, the Apolyton server may corrupt the download, so try dl'ing it again if you get an error when you try to start the game or the campaign.

    The beta only contains the MM Late campaign, and will interfere with any other campaigns or saved games that you have. The simple uninstallation method described in the intro readme will not replace the modded map files. The original maps are contained on the game CD, however, in the Data\Textures\campmap folder. The corresponding game folder is Medieval - Total War\Textures\campmap.
    I hope to find a volunteer to make an exe which will place the game's existing maps in a temporary directory upon mod installation, so that uninstallation will be as simple as installation.

    I had a hell of a time finding the last few fatal bugs in the mod, but while solving those I also discovered and fixed dozens of other bugs along the way, some serious and some not, so this should be a very polished mod, for a beta anyway.
    Other than bug reports, general gameplay quality and economics will be the major areas to be analysed and commented upon.

    Place-holder graphics, copies of either the Rebels or the Almohads, are being used for the new factions in most places. Names on the strategic map have not yet been modified for the mod, either, though changes to landmasses and sea boundaries have been made.
    There are also a certain number of units whose weapons are out of alignment. Finding and correcting them will also be one purpose for beta-tesing, so please report any of those that you notice.
    If your Strategic map resolution is set to 800x600, the row of faction leaders will not appear during the AI turn, due to the increased number of factions in the mod. Also, faction descriptions only appear for those factions which were originally playable, due to a hard-coded limitation, so note that this is not a bug. Finally, you cannot use Huge unit sizes with the mod, due to the increased size of some units.
    These are the only glitches or limitations that I am aware of. The rest of the mod should be gold-quality, so let me know if you happen across anything else.

    Finally, the Readmes. I have posted HTML versions of the four main ones on my webpage, to give you a good idea of all that is in the mod. Word versions of these four, along with the Excel charts and a few other files, are contained in the Charts and Readmes subfolder which the mod creates in the MTW folder. A significant portion of the entire time spent on the mod has gone into composing these readmes and charts, and they are invaluable to your initial understanding of the mod, and should continue to be very valuable as long as you use the mod, so please find and mark them. I think you will find them informative, accurate and, at times, extremely interesting.
    I have pasted in a copy of the Intro text below to make it easier to answer any technical questions you might have, though the HTML and Word versions are much easier to read.

    ----------------------edit by drone------------------
    Medmod_IV_v4_07_exe
    Medmod_IV_v4_Maptex_exe
    -----------------------------------------------------
    Last edited by drone; 08-20-2011 at 02:56.
    Wes Whitaker's Total Modification site:

  2. #2
    Creator of the Medmod for M:TW Member WesW's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Introductory and Installation Readme for
    The Medieval Mod IV for Total War: Viking Expansion
    v4.00 beta: Path to Glory
    By Wes Whitaker Email: wesw2005@comcast.net Website: http://wes.apolyton.net/ .

    This readme contains an introduction to the mod and the Medieval Mod Pack lineage, instructions for both installation and un-installation, guides to using the extensive charts and documentation packaged with the mod, and descriptions of the major concepts and improvements introduced in the mod.

    Background and History:
    My aim with this mod, as it has been with my other Medieval mods for Call-to-Power I and II, is to correct any errors which may have slipped by the designers, even out those settings and stats which seem unbalanced, address inadequacies in AI performance, and expand the game in ways which I believe will increase players’ enjoyment of the game.
    These modifications are the results of over a year spent playing the game, listening to player posts in the mod threads, and scanning the forums to see what people were saying about the game, both good and bad. The result was thousands of individual changes and/or additions made to the game for the first two versions of the mod, though I still didn’t consider it to be the major overhaul that accomplished with the Call-to-Power games.
    When I started the Proposed Unit Lineup thread for the v3.00 beta, back in June of 2003, I said that here would be the major overhaul that characterized the previous Medieval Modification Packs. I privately wondered if that could really be true, since I didn't have access to the types of AI and other files that were open in the Call-to-Power games. Well, I think that version three came very close, and that with version four I have achieved the major overhaul that I envisioned, and have even surpassed it in some respects. This fourth edition of the Medieval Modification Pack, which traces its history back to 1999, is as good, if not better, than any of the previous editions, and it would never have been possible for me to come close to a modification package of this size and quality without the support of many fine people at Total War.org, both posters and lurkers.

    My first goal with version three of the mod was to make the game more challenging once you enter the conquest phase. This is done by restricting the provinces where factions can produce units. The areas where factions can recruit their units are called Homelands. This reflects the theory that empires are built upon the native troops from where the people originated, rather than draftees from newly conquered areas. Practically all units are restricted to a Homeland, or else they require unique buildings to construct.
    In order to restrict the units to certain provinces, I added close to 100 new units to the game, and drafted more than thirty additional units from the Viking Campaign for use in the standard campaigns. These additional units allowed the implementation of my second goal, which involved expanding upon the original CA design of giving each religion unique characteristics and unit traits. My goal was to give unique characteristics and units to each faction in the game.
    A secondary aim in the goal of faction uniqueness was to add much more historical realism to the game, and I am very proud with what has been accomplished, thanks mainly to the members and visitors of the TotalWar.org forums. Many of them have contributed their knowledge to the development of the unit lineup, and some like Dan, Russ and Mael have spent considerable time and effort researching and passing on to me their information on this era in history. I am continually astounded by the depth of knowledge held by many of the members of the forums. This added realism was why I entitled version three Total Immersion, because I believe that you could now become engrossed in the feel and atmosphere of the Medieval period to a level I have never felt outside of role-playing games. Well, the level of historical depth and knowledge implemented for version four far surpasses even that of version three, to the point of approaching a historical simulation, I believe, resulting in major revamps of many factions. In addition to unit lineups, this included the addition of historically accurate rulers and heroes.
    Work also continued on the basic task of improving AI performance and enhancing gameplay, and several more concepts were developed in pursuit of these goals. Thousands of additional changes were made to the made to the files, including a complete overhaul of unit priorities, and the continued development of the campaign files in order to offer a better-balanced starting position for all factions in the game, as well as creating strategic situations that would challenge even the most experienced of players.


    New and expanded game concepts:

    New concept: Homelands
    A dozen or so provinces that share the same ethnicity as a given faction, usually encompassing the faction's territory and some surrounding provinces. Note that two or more factions may claim the same province, where their peoples intermingle. This can often lead to conflict between the factions. A list of the Homelands for each faction is available in the Homelands and Mercs page of the v3 stats spreadsheet.
    For non-Homeland provinces, you may be able to build peasants, ships, artillery or special attack units such as spies and assassins. Specifics may be found in the Unit notes text.
    Note: Crusading factions have access to the units used by the Crusader States faction, in the Crusader States’ Homeland.

    New concept: Restricted Inns
    Inns can now be built only in provinces where the Mercenary "good" is found. These provinces will generally be in areas where ethnic Homelands overlap, and thus conflict is more likely, or in areas where special mercenary troops are available, such as Scotland.

    Expanded concept: Unique Bodyguards
    The discovery that the game ignores any era restrictions on bodyguard units allowed the designation of faction-specific units for each faction. Bodyguards can be any regular troop. The Italians, in fact, don’t even use cavalry, but a variety of infantry instead! Bodyguards are denoted in the faction descriptions text by the initials “BG”.

    New concept: Standard, Compound and Mongol bows
    Many units from non-Catholic regions, primarily the open Steppes and the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa, used bows superior to those of Feudal Europe, and now this is properly reflected in the game.
    Each bow type comes with a different amount of arrows, which is both historically accurate and makes it easy to tell what type of bow a unit utilizes when viewing the unit lists. Extensive descriptions of each bow type is contained in the Unit notes readme, as well as a detailed chart listing the exact differences between them, as well as the other changes to the various projectile stats used in the game.

    New resource: Trade Routes
    These are present in certain inland, historically correct provinces, allowing exotic trade goods to be present, and enabling the construction of Merchants, which are not otherwise allowed in land-locked provinces.

    Major improvements:

    1) Close to 100 new units for the standard campaigns, as well as the removal units that had little effect on the game, were redundant, or were simply a bad idea to begin with.
    2) New unit types, such as Cavalry Killers. (see Unit notes document)
    3) Factions that are even more varied, yet better balanced than ever before, as the result of continued playtesting and feedback on the forums. For example, practically every unit in the game from version three has been tweaked, if not completely overhauled.
    4) Major revisions of the naval and trade system, including the addition of a new Resource, Trade Routes, necessary for building Merchants in inland provinces.
    5) The conversion of most hybrid melee/missile units to dedicated units, either melee or ranged units, due to the AI’s inability to use them properly. This should help the Muslim factions significantly when they are controlled by the AI.
    6) A way of circumventing the game’s rule which placed Artillery units at the top of the list of AI forces. This will help AI performance immensely in large open-field battles.
    7) The recommendations of a Medieval scholar with particular expertise in missile warfare have resulted in the first overhaul of the Projectile text since version one of the mod. The version one alterations greatly improved the game, and I expect this new overhaul to enhance it just as much over our previous file.
    8) A major expansion and improvement of the Rulers and Heroes text, for some of the original factions as well as the new ones.
    9) More historically correct names for the Muslim factions in the game, based upon the work of the Muslim Research team. This includes unit names as well as royal, princess and noble names.
    10) Extensive additions to the background notes and facts regarding all facets of the game. Many of these may be found in the MM4_Heroes.txt, as well as the Historical Notes document, which is in the Charts and Readmes folder.

    The two greatest improvements to the mod for version four, however, are the new, greatly improved Strategic Map, and the addition of 12 new factions to the game.


    Acknowledgements:
    Mael Knapp, a.k.a. Yelping Godzilla, was an invaluable source of both ideas and historical information, and he wrote most all of the unit descriptions created for the first three versions of the mod. Ron du Bois, a.k.a. Quokka, was also of immense help in this area, especially in regards to the Muslim units. I encourage you to take note of these if you have any interest what-so-ever in history, as they are as good or better than any ever written for the Medieval series, and those of you familiar with previous Medmods know how high a praise this is. I have included these descriptions in the mod’s spreadsheet alongside the new and altered unit names for the mod.
    Also, thanks go out to Lord Crazy, Barocca and the other guys who offered help on the .org forums, and to forum members such as Gaelstrum, Red Harvest, Pablo Sanchez and especially A_B, who offered key suggestions to solving certain problems, and provided extensive feedback in the development of the mod.
    Many of the graphics for the new factions were made by Blind King of Bohemia for his mod. Viking Horde was very helpful in solving a couple of critical technical problems with the new map.
    In addition, there were many people who helped me construct the new map and new factions, as well as overhaul much of the existing factions. I decided to divide the map into regions, and ask for volunteers to take over responsibility for both the provinces and factions contained in these regions.
    Russ Mitchell handled the Balkans and Steppes, and contributed much to the overall development of the mod.
    Isopostolos (Sean Parramore) was especially helpful with the Latin States faction, as well as info on Greece and Asia Minor.
    Eastside Character (David Ruszkowski) did a fantastic job researching northern Europe, and was instrumental in re-organizing the Poles.
    Sicilian Vespers (Salvatore Marino) did a great job with the Italian Peninsula and the splitting of the Italian faction.
    PseRamesses (Patrick Ericson) handled Scandinavia with the skill of a native, and was key in the development of the Danes and Swedes.
    cutepuppy (Roel Ghysens) came onboard at a critical time and did a marvelous job covering all the changes made to the provinces in Germany and France.
    Youngturk (Peter Tirado) also lent a hand with the Turks and Asia Minor.
    Aymara deBois Mauri (Ricardo Teixera) not only did an incredible amount of fine work on the Iberian Peninsula and the factions who fought over it, but he also coordinated the work of the Muslim Research Group: Sinan (Shahed Kazi), Cebei (Akin Unver) and Faisal (Faisal Hussein), who completely overhauled the Muslim factions and the lands they occupied.
    These guys made extensive posts full of suggestions and information used in developing the new map, with historical info on the provinces, both new and old, as well as the factions who owned them and how everything fit together to form the medieval world. They were also invaluable in researching websites and adding their own knowledge in the creation of the new factions. Besides posting, they sent in numerous reports to me via email with all types of data on actual kings and heroes, along with lists of authentic names for the princes, generals and princesses that are used, both for the new factions and where needed to expand and improve several of the existing factions which had not been adequately fleshed out in the original game.

    Version 2.04 of the Medmod IV is the version I made specifically for the Viking Campaign. I have bundled it in with version four, should you wish to try it out as well.

    Installation:
    For those of you downloading the mod from my site, it is contained in self-extraction utilities.
    The Graphics portion of the mod contains permanent mod files that you need to store somewhere, in case you need to re-install the mod at a later date. The Graphics portion must be installed first.
    The second utility contains the Texts portion of the mod, and it is this part which is updated when new editions of the mod are released. The Text, or Update, portion must be installed second, after the Graphics portion.
    Finally, there is the large version of the strategic map. This version is not needed if you set your strategic map resolution higher than 800x600, which may make the mod much easier to download if you have a modem connection.
    After downloading a portion, all you need do is save it, click on it, and follow the instructions. And please take the few seconds required to read them, as they may save you considerable time later.
    For example, if you have installed the game to a directory other than C:\Program Files\Total War, you will need to point the installer to your equivalent of the Medieval – Total War folder. The second page of the installer asks you where you want the mod files created. If you let Total War install itself to the default directory, then you can simply click the button to proceed with installation, since the installer is already pointed to the default directory.

    Starting the game:
    When you start the game, you should see the short Medieval Mod IV video, unless you use the skipcredits bypass. The caption “MM 4.00” should be shown in the Main Menu, denoting the version of the mod currently installed. In the Campaign Selection screen, you should see new campaigns with the “MM” prefix.
    Note that the additional campaigns mean that you may have to use the scroll bar that appears to the right of the list to select the later campaigns.

    Caution: You cannot play the mod if you have Huge unit sizes selected, due to the over-sized Muslim and pike units. All other sizes will work.

    Note: The line of faction portraits do not appear during the AI turn if your Strategic Map resolution is set to 800x600, since they will not all fit onscreen. This has no affect on gameplay.

    Conversions for non-English versions:
    The Winzip and self-extraction utility are both set to unzip the mod’s Language Localization files into the English language folder. This means that the mod will not work for non-English versions of the game until you do a couple of simple things. These actions will convert your game to all-English. I have included instructions in Step 1 for backing up your original files.
    1) Look in the Medieval – Total War\Loc folder, and you should see two folders. One of them will be named Eng, and contains all of the English language files for the English version of the game. The other folder will be the one for your language, say Ita for Italian, and contains all the translated, or Localized, files for your language. This is the folder the game looks for in your version, instead of the Eng folder. Cut the Ita folder out and paste it somewhere as a back-up, in case you ever want to go back to the original game. I would recommend pasting it in the Medieval – Total War\ Charts and Readmes folder.
    2) Re-name the Eng folder to match the one for your language, which would be Ita for Italian. This allows the game to find the appropriate files. That’s it. ;)


    Un-installing the game:
    I have set up a very simple way to un-install the mod, by pasting in the few original files that the mod over-writes.
    Look in the Medieval – Total War\Charts and Readmes\un-install folder, copy its contents, and paste them into the Medieval – Total War folder. That’s all for the English version of the game.
    For non-English versions, you will also need to paste your backed-up language folder into its original place, Medieval – Total War\Loc.

    Color Scheme:
    General changes, text references and acknowledgements, file references, provinces, Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim, Christian, buildings, ships, spearmen, infantry, cavalry, missiles, agents.

    Charts and Readmes:
    This file, along with the spreadsheet and some other interesting texts, is placed in your Charts and Readmes folder, which is located in your Medieval – Total War folder. If you do not have Microsoft Excel or Word, I have uploaded viewers for them to my webpage, which you may directly download by simply clicking on these links: Word '97 32-bit viewer and/or Microsoft Excel viewer .

    Presenting the enormous additions and alterations contained in this mod, in a way that is convenient, intuitive and sufficiently detailed, has been one of the hardest tasks which I have faced with this version.
    Your first step should be to read over the entire text of this Readme, then the Non-unit and Unit notes Word documents, followed by the Faction descriptions. The Faction descriptions document will be the one which you refer to most often, so you may want to print it out rather than minimize the game and bring it up on your screen.
    This Introductory Readme lists the major game improvements and new concepts added by the mod, along with its background and the details of what I set out to improve and expand in the game. Also included are the details on how to purchase, download, install and un-install it. Finally, it describes the contents and aims of all the other documents and spreadsheets included to further explain and help you get the most enjoyment possible from what I truly feel is a spectacular addition to an already great game.
    The Non-units document covers the changes made to provincial infrastructure, attributes and ownership, and how they are reflected in the new strategic map, with notes regarding specific points of interest. In addition, it covers changes to the trade system, with short descriptions and explanations where necessary. Finally, the major changes and additions to buildings are described and detailed where necessary.
    The Units notes Word doc covers a lot of both general and specific changes to units and factions, including new concepts and the new arrangements for artillery, ships and non-combat units. It also contains tables detailing the units which appear in Crusades and Jihads, as well as all of the noteworthy categories in the Projectile stats, with both the original and new settings. Perhaps most importantly, I have written extensive, detailed notes and explanations for the changes made to all three of these important aspects of the game. Here you can see the enormous forethought and reasoning which went into these settings, down to the physics and aerodynamics used in setting the missile values.
    The Faction descriptions Word doc contains a description of the general characteristics of every faction in the game, and a detailed list of all unique units available to each faction, along with any additional notes of interest. There is very little about the game that has not been touched by the mod, so once you have decided which faction you want to play, you will want to review its entry in this file and make any notes that you think you will need to remember. I have gradually refined the unit descriptions to refer to standard units that any player should be familiar with, and which have, generally speaking, not been significantly altered by the mod. However, I have included the exact stats of these reference units at the start of the file, and I would certainly recommend that you review them thoroughly, in case there are some changes which you feel are significant, and/or to brush up on your memory.
    Therefore, you can study your faction’s units at the start of the game, and make a note that, for example, a given unit is slightly weaker in melee than a Feudal Man-at-Arms. This way, you don’t have to worry about remembering its exact stats during the middle of a battle. However, I have found that an even greater advantage of this system is that you can make similar notes regarding the units you are fighting! This will save you a lot of time and annoyance over the course of an entire game. I have also taken much time and effort to keep units true to their appearance. In other words, if a unit looks like Gothic Sergeants, then they will have similar stats to that original unit.

    v4 stats Excel spreadsheet:
    This file contains several pages which contain a wealth of useful information.
    The Homelands and Mercs page lists the specific provinces in each faction’s homeland, including which provinces can have Inns, and therefore Mercenaries. It also contains a complete list of all provinces, with notes on which ones have been re-named, deleted and added to the map.
    The Buildings page tells you the exact stats of all buildings, with changes highlighted by a yellow background.
    The Unit names page contains the descriptions for every unit in the game, and may be used in conjunction with the Units text sheet to find the exact values of every statistic for every unit in the game by matching the unit’s Game or Screen name with its File name, which is the one listed in the Units text.
    The Units text page of the v4 stats spreadsheet an exact copy of the units text file, which was pasted into the. This file contains all relevant, and some non-relevant, information about every unit in the game. This page should be used as the primary source of information on the exact costs and building requirements for all units. The column headers for this page explain what info each column contains. You may want to order the units by faction, column AC for example, to see a list of a faction's unique units, or you can look up any of the other info contained in the game's units text. This includes price ( C), upkeep (D), turns to build (E), number of men per unit (H), region bonuses (M), general stats, including movement Speed, Charge, Attack, Defense and Morale (W), era and provincial restrictions (T & AD), special abilities such as armour-piercing, supporting ranks and bonuses versus cavalry units (AI to AQ), and dismounting info (AU & AV).
    What I do when starting a game is get a notepad and pencil and construct a list of the primary units for my faction, noting building requirements, region bonuses, where present, and any additional data that I find relevant such as excellent speed or armour-piercing ability. Then I refer to the Faction Descriptions doc as needed while playing, and don’t think that I don’t need the help just because I put the mod together. There is just too much info to keep everything in your head, and I hope that you will have too much fun playing the game.
    Wes Whitaker's Total Modification site:

  3. #3

    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Superb Mod! So many good changes to the map! Many thanks to Wes and the team. I have been playing as the English and noticed two things.
    - I couldn't do anything with my ships in the North sea: needed to move them out to another sea region before I could attack, split the stack etc
    - battles against French were fine but on both occasions when I tried to fight the Scots (ie not resolve automatically) I got a CTD when battle was loading

  4. #4
    Member Member william the bastard's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Yes indeed, nice work Wes. Just notice a lot of factions have the Almohad flag, swede, genoese, portuguese and other don't remind, sorry. But there's something to feel strange for me about your homeland concept. First, I agree with your idea, but it is really annoying for my army that the lonely unit avialaible in conquered lands is just Peasant Iam currently playng with the Ventians,conquers some eastern provinces as tripoli and Palestine and cannot have units expect peasants. No more militia availaible at least. i truly understand new lands cannot offer you the same units, but I think, after some years of ruling, some units become availaible, same spirit as the turcopole unit. BTW can recruit "italian _unitsz" in carnolia and lombardia.
    In fact, I just wonder, if you don't have put too far your homeland concept.?????
    At all respect for your job.

    Cheers!!
    Sorry for my French

  5. #5
    Creator of the Medmod for M:TW Member WesW's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Quote Originally Posted by william the bastard
    Yes indeed, nice work Wes. Just notice a lot of factions have the Almohad flag, swede, genoese, portuguese and other don't remind, sorry. But there's something to feel strange for me about your homeland concept. First, I agree with your idea, but it is really annoying for my army that the lonely unit avialaible in conquered lands is just Peasant Iam currently playng with the Ventians,conquers some eastern provinces as tripoli and Palestine and cannot have units expect peasants. No more militia availaible at least. i truly understand new lands cannot offer you the same units, but I think, after some years of ruling, some units become availaible, same spirit as the turcopole unit. BTW can recruit "italian _unitsz" in carnolia and lombardia.
    In fact, I just wonder, if you don't have put too far your homeland concept.?????
    At all respect for your job.

    Cheers!!
    I mentioned in the initial post here that the new factions had placeholder graphics, usually copies of the Rebels or Almohads.
    Studying the Excel chart's Homeland's page should help you in knowing which provinces you can recruit from. I chose the areas based upon culture, whenever possible.
    I cut the Italian factions from those eligible to recruit Outremer units because the two Homelands border one another. Playtesting revealed that this gave the Venetians in effect a double-sized Homeland.

    When I first implemented the Homelands concept for version three, it was very controversial. There were veteran players who were big fans of the mod, such as Toranaga Sama, who thought it was going to ruin the game. There were a couple of months, when I was putting together v3.00, when all I could say was "trust me", since, to my knowledge, nothing like this had ever been tried in a strategy game; that of placing severe regional restrictions upon almost every unit in the game.
    I say "almost" because at first I left a few militia-type units available everywhere. Playtesting revealed that the AI would turn out hordes of these units in this situation, in all of its non-Homeland provinces, much as it tends to produce hordes of Peasants in the un-modded game. Therefore I ended up completely restricting the units.
    The concept itself turned out to be hugely popular and accepted once players got used to it, and I believe it is one of the main things that separates the Medmod from anything else created for MTW.

    I think the greatest example of is acceptance and popularity is the fact that both of the premeire mods for Rome, RTR and EB, feature the Homelands concept as an integral part of their design (it's called the Zone of Recruitment in RTR), and that, to my knowledge, it has generated little if any controversy there.
    Wes Whitaker's Total Modification site:

  6. #6
    "'elp! I'm bein' repressed!" Senior Member Aenlic's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    The homelands concept is definitely my favorite part of MedMod. I'm also a big fan of the limited and province specific mercenaries.

    Will version 4 eventually work in the early and high eras? I ask, because I tend to prefer playing in those eras. I have hope anyway; since the version notes list early and/or high era only factions such as the Almoravids and Kievans.

    No noticable bugs while playing, so far. It does seem that the economy for the Almohad faction is a bit tight for the first 20 years or so; even with the opening ship units. After that things even out a bit for them, as more ship and get built for more trade routes. The Spanish seem to have a much better time of it at the start, economy-wise. I'm still working through the faction list for comparison.
    "Dee dee dee!" - Annoymous (the "differently challenged" and much funnier twin of Anonymous)

  7. #7

    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Well I've only found one thing that is strange. Basically in Inn's I sometimes see a culverins with 120 men in them and serpentines with 60 men. Dunno why though.
    Anyways I've been playing a Burgundian campaign and I'm loving every second of it. It has been a great challenge and in 1415 no faction is clearly superior to the others. Damn, even my Burgundy is first the third largest faction currently.
    Friendship, Fun & Honour!

    "The Prussian army always attacks."
    -Frederick the Great

  8. #8

    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Sounds very cool indeed. As soon as I finish my current campaigns will have to give it a shot.
    "IF YOUR ATTACK IS GOING TOO WELL, YOU'RE WALKING INTO AN AMBUSH."

    "IF THE ENEMY IS IN RANGE, SO ARE YOU."

    ___________________________________________

  9. #9
    Creator of the Medmod for M:TW Member WesW's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    The public release version will have all three campaigns, of course. It's been enough trouble debugging just the one, and having everyone using the same campaign helps in getting consistent feedback, especially regarding longterm economics.

    Artillery pieces shouldn't be available as mercenaries. Sure they weren't regular infantry units?

    I have been looking into the Scotland crashes, and although I found a couple of missing border entries from the North Atlantic, it didn't solve the bug. I have double-checked all the campaign entries, so I'll have to start systematically isolating things tonight.

    The entries for the North Sea look fine, too, but I'll check that out as well. I hope it's not another hardcoded conflict with making it deep ocean.
    Wes Whitaker's Total Modification site:

  10. #10

    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Well if it helps you at all, I'll mention that the Scots do not work in custom battle either, but CTD during the loading sequence. So it's propably a battle related thing.
    Last edited by AggonyDuck; 07-19-2005 at 01:18.
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  11. #11

    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Actually I've been testing things and it seems that this problem isn't just a thing for the Scots. It seems to affect all the new factions (except the Bulgarians) in the same way with a CTD when loading to the battle.
    But during my tests I found that it didn't always CTD and I managed to find that it happened with units with shields that used a faction specific shield, like Chiv Sergeants. (dunno if I'm explaining good enough)
    So I'm betting that a lack of shield graphics for the new factions are causing the CTD's.
    Friendship, Fun & Honour!

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  12. #12
    Boondock Saint Senior Member The Blind King of Bohemia's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Sounds like the old facshields problem. Always needs ironing out straight away when adding new factions. A real bummer. Wes should know how to sort it out.

  13. #13
    Evil Ruler Member sprucemoose's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Wes

    regarding the arty i was able to recruit an organ gun and the german pikemen

    bonus although i dont think i should have been able



    also i had a quick look at the startpos and tinkered with it to no avail
    Last edited by sprucemoose; 07-19-2005 at 18:40.
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  14. #14
    boy of DESTINY Senior Member Big_John's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Quote Originally Posted by The Blind King of Bohemia
    Sounds like the old facshields problem. Always needs ironing out straight away when adding new factions. A real bummer. Wes should know how to sort it out.
    is this something only wesw can do? could i potentially do it with some text-file editing? my muslim warriors really need to teach the portugese a lesson!
    now i'm here, and history is vindicated.

  15. #15
    Boondock Saint Senior Member The Blind King of Bohemia's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    You need an adding a new faction guide. It tells you which BIF folders to duplicate and how to change what folders soldiers feed from. Its a little complicated if you're hoping for something easy unfortunately.

  16. #16
    boy of DESTINY Senior Member Big_John's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Quote Originally Posted by The Blind King of Bohemia
    You need an adding a new faction guide. It tells you which BIF folders to duplicate and how to change what folders soldiers feed from. Its a little complicated if you're hoping for something easy unfortunately.


    we need you wes!!
    now i'm here, and history is vindicated.

  17. #17
    boy of DESTINY Senior Member Big_John's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    well, i checked the faction shields section of wesw's startpos file (beta_MM4.txt). everything looks in order. also, the shield .bifs and .tgas all seem to be in place, and the names are correct, as far as i can see. excluding the commented-out factions, the declared faction order is the same as the faction shield order.

    it should be noted, however, that i have no clue what i'm doing.
    Last edited by Big_John; 07-19-2005 at 23:10. Reason: spelling
    now i'm here, and history is vindicated.

  18. #18
    boy of DESTINY Senior Member Big_John's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    ok, i figured out what you were talking about BKB. got to get to the gym before they close, so i don't have time to fix it right now. but i tested it with the portuguese using "spanish men at arms" (no crash using "custom0") and "feudal men at arms" (crash using "chainhlm"), so i think i can manage it.

    edit: ok, i followed the face_shield instructions found in this guide:
    http://www.totalwar.org/Downloads/Mt...tion_guide.pdf

    looks like every thing is working great now. thanks a lot BKB!
    Last edited by Big_John; 07-20-2005 at 03:16.
    now i'm here, and history is vindicated.

  19. #19
    Don't worry, I don't exist Member King of Atlantis's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    This is great, ive never played with such an agressive AI. And im only playing easy!

  20. #20
    Arena Senior Member Crazed Rabbit's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    It sounds as though WesW has out done himself with a truly amazing mod.

    Congratulations!

    I have one question: How many units are affected by the facshields bug? I want to know how much I'd have to do if I wanted to patch it up and not wait for the next version.

    Crazed Rabbit
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  21. #21
    boy of DESTINY Senior Member Big_John's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    fixing the face-shields (or whatever it's called) bug is pretty easy, really. here's what i did:

    note: be sure everything is backed up before proceeding




    according to the instructions in that guide i linked, i copied these folders (and renamed the copies) in the \Textures\Men\ directory:

    original name -> new name
    Peasant -> Custom0
    ChainHlm -> Custom1
    HlPlArSH -> Custom2
    LArmWCav -> Custom3
    MKnight -> Custom4
    MSHelm -> Custom5
    PlateS -> Custom6


    then, inside each "custom" folder, i renamed the .bif and .lbm files in the same fashion as the folders
    e.g.:
    LArmWCav.bif -> Custom3.bif
    LARMWCAV_H.BIF -> Custom3_H.bif
    LArmWCav.LBM -> Custom3.LBM

    next, i opened up MM_Full_unit_prod.txt (in the main MTW folder) in a text editor and replaced all instances ("replaceall") of the original unit-body-type (i.e. Peasant, ChainHlm, HlPlArSH, LArmWCav, MKnight, MSHelm, PlateS) with the corresponding "custom" entry (i.e. Custom0, Custom1, Custom2, Custom3, Custom4, Custom5, Custom6).

    NOTE: if you do a "replaceall" like i did, be sure to replace "Peasant (with the quote in front) with "Custom0. leaving the quote out will cause entries outside of field 48 (the body-type field) to be changed as well. use that quote mark (") in front for all changes (e.g. replace "MKnight with "Custom4 [with the quote in front]).

    a safer way to do this would be to go unit by unit and rename the body-type value in field 48 using the GnomeEditor (http://www.mizus.com/Tools/Files/Gno...Editorv2.0.zip) found on the org's download pages (http://www.mizus.com/Tools/Files/).




    that's it. once i figured out what to do, it took me 2 minutes.
    Last edited by Big_John; 07-20-2005 at 05:30.
    now i'm here, and history is vindicated.

  22. #22
    "'elp! I'm bein' repressed!" Senior Member Aenlic's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    This information is all from Starkhorn's Adding_new_faction_guide.pdf (see thread in the alchemist topic)

    Any units using one of the following face shield textures will cause a crash if they appear in a new (FN_FREE) faction:

    "Peasant", "ChainHlm", "HlPlArSH", "LArmWCav", "MKnight","MSHelm" and "PlateS"

    First you need to go into textures/men and find the following folders and copy, rename and repaste them into the same directory thus:

    "Peasant" :- Custom0
    ChainHlm" :- Custom1
    "HlPlArSH" :- Custom2
    "LArmWCav" :- Custom3
    "MKnight" :- Custom4
    "MSHelm" :- Custom5
    "PlateS" :- Custom6

    Now go into each new folder and change the names of the files in them to match the folder. For example, go into "Peasants" and rename Peasant_H.bif file to Custom0_H.bif and Peasant_H.lbm to Custom0_H.lbm. Do this for all the files in the 7 new folders.

    You're only just getting started.

    Now comes the fun part where mistakes can happen (and might be the reason for the CTD's in the beta). Using an editor like Gnome's or Dragon's (links in stickied threads in alchemist topic), open CRUSADERS_UNIT_PROD11.txt file and find field48 - the texture body field. Go down through the list and change any units that match the above list to the appropriate new CustomX name. For example, the very first entry, Highland Clansmen (the source of the Scotland CTD, I'll bet) uses the Peasant texture. So in field 48 for the Highland Clansmen you'll change the entry so it looks like this: "CUSTOM0, YES, YES"

    Do this for any and all units and ONLY those units which use one of the 7 textures from the above list.

    (NOTE: All caps in this field seems to be a requirement, it might not work if you use Custom0 instead of CUSTOM0, even though the folder is actually named Custom0)

    Any little mistake in the Crusader file will cause a CTD when the game encounters that unit. And for some reason the faceshield units only are affected when they appear in new factions. Units using archer textures in the Pestunic folder don't seem to cause crashes. Must be something hardcoded.
    "Dee dee dee!" - Annoymous (the "differently challenged" and much funnier twin of Anonymous)

  23. #23
    "'elp! I'm bein' repressed!" Senior Member Aenlic's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    I just caught a mistake in the above. Don't go into the "Peasants" folder and rename the files to Custom0, etc.

    Go into the Custom0 folder and rename the files from peasant to custom, etc. And so on for eachof the folders.
    "Dee dee dee!" - Annoymous (the "differently challenged" and much funnier twin of Anonymous)

  24. #24
    "'elp! I'm bein' repressed!" Senior Member Aenlic's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Talk about synchonicity. Big John and I posted the exact same thing within minutes of each other. Sorry for the repost. Big John was posting his while I was composing mine.
    "Dee dee dee!" - Annoymous (the "differently challenged" and much funnier twin of Anonymous)

  25. #25
    boy of DESTINY Senior Member Big_John's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Quote Originally Posted by Aenlic
    Talk about synchonicity. Big John and I posted the exact same thing within minutes of each other. Sorry for the repost. Big John was posting his while I was composing mine.
    no worries, it happens a lot when people are posting long explanations.

    note, though, changing the field 48 values in CRUSADERS_UNIT_PROD11.txt won't affect a Medmod campaign. you need to change the values for field 48 in MM_Full_unit_prod.txt for that (CRUSADERS_UNIT_PROD11.txt can be left untouched).
    now i'm here, and history is vindicated.

  26. #26
    Arena Senior Member Crazed Rabbit's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Thanks for the help, both of you! Currently replacing the folders.

    Crazed Rabbit
    Ja Mata, Tosa.

    The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow through it; the storm may enter; the rain may enter; but the King of England cannot enter – all his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement! - William Pitt the Elder

  27. #27
    "'elp! I'm bein' repressed!" Senior Member Aenlic's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Quote Originally Posted by Big_John
    no worries, it happens a lot when people are posting long explanations.

    note, though, changing the field 48 values in CRUSADERS_UNIT_PROD11.txt won't affect a Medmod campaign. you need to change the values for field 48 in MM_Full_unit_prod.txt for that (CRUSADERS_UNIT_PROD11.txt can be left untouched).
    Oh, good catch. Correct indeed. Wes uses a different unit file.

    I just finished reading the comments Wes included in the startpos file. So much nicer than the CA originals. Makes it very easy to follow along. I'm nearly salivating at the thought of being able to play this new version in all eras when it's finished. The map is great, the new factions look balanced. I noticed some of the new titles, such as for the Portuguese. Very nice indeed.
    "Dee dee dee!" - Annoymous (the "differently challenged" and much funnier twin of Anonymous)

  28. #28
    Creator of the Medmod for M:TW Member WesW's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Thanks for the reports regarding the fac_shield crashes, guys. I researched this area a few weeks ago, and came across a couple of reports stating that their absence shouldn't crash the game. I guess there was still some confusion when those posts were made.

    A couple of points for modders:
    1)The names for the folders are hardcoded, so you must use the names Custom0-9.
    2)As Aenlic said, the names must be all caps in the units text. Things like this cause hair loss.
    3)The issue itself involves individual shields within the bifs of the seven body types. You can, or should be able to, actually use the types, as long as you don't select those particular shields for units used by new factions. You can recognise them because they are solid white.

    The fac_shields themselves are located in the Battle folder, and are arranged by units, so it's a wonder that new units work with old factions. There is probably a hard link from each of the seven body type folders to a corresponding unit folder, if I had to guess.

    Aenlic, there are plenty more notes in the MM4_Heroes.txt. The guys who sent in the info on the new heroes and kings often included short bios with them.

    Since this is a CTD issue, I'll post the fix immediately. It should be up within an hour after I submit this reply.

    I have also tweaked a few things with the game, most noticably restricting High-era ships to coastal waters, where they should have been to begin with. This means all starting ships are now coastal only.

    If you are updating, you only need to get the texts portion, since I'll stick the copied graphics in there for this update.
    Wes Whitaker's Total Modification site:

  29. #29
    Boondock Saint Senior Member The Blind King of Bohemia's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    There are actually 8, PlateCav being the one someone missed.

  30. #30
    warning- plot loss in progress Senior Member barocca's Avatar
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    Default Re: Medieval mod IV v4 beta: Path to Glory

    Quote Originally Posted by The Blind King of Bohemia
    There are actually 8, PlateCav being the one someone missed.
    Yep - 8 is correct
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