View Full Version : ZX Mod Beta 2 Released
Hello, after almost month since last update i'm proud to announce the second release of the controversial ZX Mod!
For those of you that never heard of it:
The ZX MiniMod takes a different approach from the popular big Mods like BKB, XL or Medmod.
ZX aim is to bring an AOE flavour into MTW by using the exisisting MTW+VI unit set in a more specialized way, increasing faction specialization and rebalancing the game.
http://microsoftusernetwork.com/hosted/ZxMod.exe
Some features:
- Increased faction specialization
Now each faction has more marked strenghts and weaknesses, focusing on the importance of developing customized strategies shaped on what you have and increasing the importance of mercenaries/strategic troop production territories in order to increase your army efficency.
Each faction (a bit like in AOK) has one or more defined attributes that rules out the unit set.
For example the Danish are an Heavy Infantry faction.
What does this mean?
Their unit roster is mostly focused on heavy inf (like Landsmenn or Huskarles), while they are weak in most other aspects, especially cavalry (so you'll have to get heavy cav from the steppes or hire mercenaries), meaning that you won't get knights but only the crappy raider cav or druzhina...
Another interesting faction to try are the Italians.
Being a Militia and Late Tech faction they'll have to make do with an overall low morale army and may need to bring numbers against an heavier foe, especially on early where they won't get anything better than MS and ILI...
Things improves a lot with time for them (halbs in high and other heavy units in late) but mercs and crusades will be a resource through the whole game since they don't get killer units.
On the opposite tactical side you'll find interesting the Hungarians, which are a low tech cavalry archer faction.
I found them great on early as with Szekely you can make a pincushion of most enemies and engage lighter foes, but their roster won't improve much in high and late.
Facing the Horde head-on with them is an unique challenge, as you'll have to use amored spears and get nothing heavier than feudal knights, but ranged cav dueling is very interesting.
BTW, more specialized factions doesn't mean 100% unique tool set, just that you'll have to focus more on certain units to get an hedge over the opponent.
Simply, while all factions got the same basic units (spears, archers, light cav and men at arms) some got more advanced units in a respect or the other.
For example with the hungarians you'll get FMAA but not CMAA as they aren't focused on infantry rather than cavalry, while the Italians gets MS which are a bit weaker but this is compensated by the ILI...
- Revisited crusading system
Instead of having crusading orders tied to each faction, now they work on their own "zones of influence", where you have to build your chapter house or walk with your crusade in order to acquire an order's services.
Crusading roster has also been increased, moving a few units (like Turcopoles) into this specialistic role and giving two units to the factions with less chances to get a chapter house into the right place (this is done because the AI cannot recognize them).
In order to balance it and avoid a crusader swarm to Byz and muslims now crusading price has been doubled.
Historically (BTW, this mod is more focused in gameplay than historical accuracy, let's say you can expect a few "compromises") the knightly orders were'nt tied to a kingdom, but rather they had their own bases of operation and land holdings.
Nearby countries this way could call their help (for a price of course) and acquire their services.
I'm trying to simulate this by changing the crusader units requisites from "FN_xxx" to specific territories (IE Teutonics in Prussia, Hospitallers in Malta etc).
This way all you need to get an order instead of the other is to build a chapter house in an order's lands (still working on this, look for the valour bonuses in the beta).
Personally i'd get Prussia or Malta as those two orders gets an extra unit (i've unlocked the foot knights as separate unit for the Hospitallers), but if you like the other ones try Leon or Tolouse.
BTW, any historical info on where the various orders got their lands would be welcome ~;)
In addition to this system English and Danish gets a surprise (as their AI has problems in conquering the right places) so you'll want to do plenty of crusading with them
- Improved strategic balance
Now underdog factions gets their chance, they've been given money/territory bonuses so that they won't cripple the economy with the heirs.
Overall AI is improved and now produces better unit mixes.
- Peasants role redefined
No more peasant armies, they now appear only in crusades (early only) and rebellions, where they belong.
- Refined dimounted units
Now all light and non-noble cav can dismount outside sieges, improved the dismounted version of many units so you'll always get something useful.
- Other minor changes
A few units have been slightly retouched so they won't be nearly useless anymore (like Abissinian Guards, Bulgarian Brigands, Gothic Sergeants etc).
Also, dismounted versions of many units has been improved, giving an increased tactical flexibility to cavalry commanders.
- High and Late Campaigns added (currently WIP)
- Now with automatic installer!
- Looking for feedback and suggestions!
- Novgorod GA should work now
- Overall AI is improved and now produces better unit mixes
- Added a "new" unit from VI
temp address: http://microsoftuse.temp.powweb.com/hosted/ZxMod.exe
Latest update: 17/07/2005.
Pericles
06-03-2005, 17:09
Zarax:
Glad to see that you are still working on this mod :)
I definitely like the ideas you have implemented here. It will make for a very interesting game to try to see how a player does with various factions.
You have most certainly filled a void with this mod. I am, still playing my current campaigns, but once done, I will give this puppy a workout :)
Cheers!
Thank you very much, looking forward to see a post play evaluation :-)
Pericles
06-03-2005, 17:15
BTW, here is a website that provides a great deal of detail on the crusades and on the various orders:
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Crusade
Pericles
06-03-2005, 17:17
Here is another website that provides a great deal of info on the Knights orders:
http://www.orderofmaltacanada.org/page_e_history.htm
Thanks!
They will surely serve me well to refine the crusading part...
Pericles
06-03-2005, 17:39
In addition to the Hospitalers and the Templars, both formed in PALESTINE during the CRUSADES, there were also the LIVONIAN ORDERS, the TEUTONIC KNIGHTS, and various orders devoted to fighting the MOSLEMS in Spain and Portugal had more strictly national interests and memberships. The Knights Of Malta, also an international body, was a later continuation of the Hospitalers.
More detail:
TEUTONIC KNIGHTS (too-tahn'-ik) or Teutonic Order, German religious-military order founded ab. 1190 at Jerusalem during the third CRUSADE. Patterned after the Templars and the Hospitalers, the new Order played only a small role in the affairs of the Frankish-Christian states which had been carved out in Palestine-Syria.
Around 1210 the Knights became involved in European affairs, and the Order reached the height of its influence and power during the 13th and l4th cent., when it conquered Prussia, converting the inhabitants to Christianity or replacing them with German colonists. By the end of this period, the Order, which after 1225 also included the LIVONIAN ORDER, with its cap. at Marienburg (Konigsberg after 1466), ruled a large domain along the coast of the Baltic as far as Russia. Following major defeats in the intermittent war with Poland (see TANNENBERG, BATTLES OF) in the l5th cent., the Order acknowledged Polish sovereignty. There followed a period of gradual but steady decline. In 1525, the Grand Master of the Order accepted PROTESTANTISM, and the former holdings of the Order in Prussia became a duchy under Polish protection. The Order's few remaining possessions in Germany proper were secularized in 1805. Biblio.: Krollmann, C., The Teutonic Order in Prussia (1938).
LIVONIAN ORDER (li-voh'-nee-un), Livonian Knights or Knights of the Swords, German KNGHTLY ORDER, founded in 1202 by the bishops of Riga to christianize the lands lying along the Baltic Coast, i.e., Livonia (N. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia). In 1236, following their defeat at Siauliai by the Lithuanians, the Order became a branch of the TEUTONIC KNIGHTS, although it retained its autonomy in the Livonian Region. An attack by the Order on Novgorod led to its massive defeat by Alexander NEVSKY at Lake Peipus (1242), and in the years afterward the Order was steadily weakened by Russian and local opposition and by the Protestant Reformation. It was disbanded in 1561.
Thanks, this is useful info, though i'm not looking to add new units at least for now...
Good, after looking at the info you provided (and making a cross check with the wikipedia) I tripled the crusading order lands...
Will post an update with it as soon as i will finish some other minor tweaks...
Update!
- Increased crusading order territories
- Minor AI tweaks
- Needs testing, please send your feedback!
Currently playing with the Italians GA with this mod. Seems good so far, I had to go to scandinavia to get some bada$$ infantry. ~:) Now I just need a shipping lane to get them back home. Hehe. I started playing before your last update so it won't have a few of the things added (what you did in your last update). The crusading units were nice. I started in Genoa and got the regualr two units of whichever order it is, but also when I went through either Venice or Austria I got one and a half units of Teutonic Seargeants also. ~D
I think the HRE got ambushed by the French, Hungarians and Poles so they are crumbling, nothing strange there, but all seems to be pretty nice atm with everyone else. Just got the first crusade to Antioch and about to tech to Italian Light Infantry, so we'll see if I can hold till I get the better units in high and late. ~:)
Oh, finally someone is playing it!
BTW, were you able to build custom units in scandinavia? Only the danes should be able to get viking units...
Watch out for the pesky French as if they tech up to FMAA they can give you some pain, even though MS should give you some decent counter...
Finally, as the Italians you should get the whole Italy + Malta (to get the Hospitallers) except the papal states as you get some kind of bonus in every place (emissaries in venice, priests in rome, spys in sicily) plus milan is the best place for ILI while Tuscany should be your militia hub (all militia units)... Naples will be useful in late to get some heavy cav (gendarmes) while Genoa is good for the ranged units.
That said, central europe will give you good infantry, look to the steppes for cavalry...
BTW, which version did you download? If you got some crusader units in Venice looks like you got the last one
Yeah I was able to build all the guys in Sweden as normal, Landsmen, Thralls, Woodsmen, Huscarles. After doing the appropriate tech's of course. But I thought that was the point, that you had to go far-a-field to fill the gaps in your army. Also I was seeing a fair few number of peasants dotted around the place, not from Rebellion's/Crusades/Jihads. Though I just checked the Unit_prod file and everything seems like it should be how you explained it. . . :dizzy2: Will keep you informed. ~;)
edyzmedieval
06-14-2005, 15:37
Zarax,
Your enthusiasm is a joy to see. ~:) I'm currently downloading the mod. Looks promising. I promise I will submit some feedback when I install the mod and play it.
Cheers! ~:cheers:
EDIT: that was meant to be a reply to BAD ~:)
Hmm, you shouldn't be able to recruit viking units as the Italians, that's quite weird...
Peasants are also out, there might be some around left as starting units even though i was quite sure to have cleaned there too... I just hope they don't appear as much as in vanilla.
The infantry i meant to be available for everyone are the usual swiss guys, the swabian swordsmen and the almughavars... They are quite enough to fill most gaps but the viking line is absolutely reserved to Danes and Novgorod.
I don't really know what happended, if you got winrar you can try unpacking the exe and manually replace the prod files (they go to c:\total war\medieval total war\) in case they shouldn't be at the right place.
The easiest way to check if the prod file is the right one is to check the pope, he should be accompanied by Hospitaller knights.
Zarax,
Your enthusiasm is a joy to see. ~:) I'm currently downloading the mod. Looks promising. I promise I will submit some feedback when I install the mod and play it.
Cheers! ~:cheers:
Wow, this must be a lucky day! ~D
Please let me know if you need any assistance :bow:
It's the correct one with the Pope having Knights Hospitaler as his Royal Unit. ~:confused:
Err... I'm just as confused as you...
Try downloading it again from my sig...
If that does not fix it please send me your units prod file... And if all else fails i'll make a manual install archive that should be able to replace everything.
edyzmedieval
06-14-2005, 17:02
Zarax, here's some early feedback. ~:)
The mod is really at it's name(mini). Although it's a small one, I kinda like it. You changed much. The Pope is now a Hospitaller, which quite reflects the reality. You gave for example, to the Swiss, Tyrolia, which again is historic.
Until now, it's good. For the future, maybe you'll develop it to become a Large Mod like XL and SuperMod(BKB).
Cheers!
Zarax, here's some early feedback. ~:)
The mod is really at it's name(mini). Although it's a small one, I kinda like it. You changed much. The Pope is now a Hospitaller, which quite reflects the reality. You gave for example, to the Swiss, Tyrolia, which again is historic.
Until now, it's good. For the future, maybe you'll develop it to become a Large Mod like XL and SuperMod(BKB).
Cheers!
Glad you're liking it ~D
The scope of my small MOD was to provide a more interesting experience (with a number of compromises between gameplay and realism) by having the player use slightly more specialized factions so that you cannot build a nearly perfect army with ease but rather adapt against your enemies a bit like in Age of Empires 2 (cheers to all AOE players ~:cheers: ) without having to rebuild the whole game like the big mods out there.
This also leads to other advantages, because the AI likes simpler rosters and so it can develop easier (seeing gothic units on easy was the biggest reward), offering a better challenge after some further tweaking (like placing ports at the right place) which gave underdogs like the Danes (don't let them bite you now) a chance to grow up...
About making larger mods i don't think i'm going to do it at least for now (see: university killing my free time), but i'll surely refine and expand this one until it will offer a fully balanced experience for those who wants a quick refreshing experience with MTW. :bow:
edyzmedieval
06-14-2005, 17:34
The most important part is that you've eliminated peasants!!! ~:) ~D
They were completely annoying and also I won the battles way too easy!!! (in Vanilla MTW)
The most important part is that you've eliminated peasants!!! ~:) ~D
They were completely annoying and also I won the battles way too easy!!! (in Vanilla MTW)
Oh, but i didn't eliminate them... They now occupy their rightful place in the game (crusades and rebellions) ~;)
You will meet a few from time to time and also they have the nasty habit to ruin your early crusades but not much else, plus once early is gone so they are for good :knight:
Err... I'm just as confused as you...
Try downloading it again from my sig...
If that does not fix it please send me your units prod file... And if all else fails i'll make a manual install archive that should be able to replace everything.
I redownloaded and installed it. Runs fine now. Playing as the Almohads on Hard. Spanish overstretched themselves and went into civil war when I killed their king, they never recovered. The Aragonese then overstretched and I beat them back to Navarre and Aragon. The Eggies are my close allies who seem to be knacking the pope atm ~:eek: (never seen that before) after them annihilating the Turks and Byzantines. But everyone else seems to be hunkydory. Even the HRE are hacking it, for once! ~D All in all god job, though I have yet to hit high. . .
Just one thing:-
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/Nimwan/MTW/100Swabians.jpg
Dunno how that Uber unit of Swabians appeared, but I'm glad I haven't had to fight it. . . yet. Oh and actually, is it correct that I can have 6 heirs at a time? I thought it was limited to only 5? But I have consistantly been having 6 sons from the Caliph.
PS - Got my housemate to download it too. ~;) After playing XL mod its a nice more familiar retreat. ~:)
Oh, that unit of swabians is a small gift i gave to HRE so that they won't be swamped out that easily in the game openings... It's an unique unit so as HRE i would hoard it unless you really need the extra punch...
About the heirs i'm sure i didn't touch it but it is by design as i remember it plenty of times with catholics too (check the Italians).
BTW, did the french kill the english yet? It should be a lot more balanced on that front but those pesky blues have a quite plentiful money supply and go big.
PS: The Eggys going at the pope? That's something new for me too... Though they won't like the resurgences in high (swiss halbs will hurt them bad if hospitallers didn't yet)...
Happy playing!
Oh, i almost forgot: A level 3 spearmaker in Navarre will give you a nice addition to your roster... I'm sure you will have less problems with knights ;-)
Mithrandir
06-16-2005, 13:50
stickied for a short while.
stickied for a short while.
Many thanks Mithrandir, you have my gratitude :bow:
BTW, did the french kill the english yet? It should be a lot more balanced on that front but those pesky blues have a quite plentiful money supply and go big.
PS: The Eggys going at the pope? That's something new for me too... Though they won't like the resurgences in high (swiss halbs will hurt them bad if hospitallers didn't yet)...
Happy playing!
The French tried it on against the HRE but I guess they bit off more than they can chew and they are now stuck between England and a growing HRE. Nice and different for once. yeah I'm helping the Eggie's with rebelions in the popes lands and am slowly converting all the Italian Peninsula to Muslims. I like my little quirks. ~D
I like the province bonus's that you've added, but maybe it makes nations like the Muslims a bit too strong with all the extra ones. Because they already have a diverse roster as opposed to the limited staus of the Christian nations. Maybe you could limit the units even more.
One I can think of is limit the Almo's heavy cavalry more, no Kwarazmanian Cavalry? So their heaviest cavalry without using mercs is Ghulam Cavalry and Ghulam Bodyguards. Because in one battle I had one unit of these (Kwarazmanian's) held up 5 enemy units and died to the last man while the rest of my army annihilated the Spanish and their King. :dizzy2:
Hmm, maybe i can remove the KC from the Almohads, but then the problem is that the muslims (which aren't optimized yet) usually gets owned by other factions, especially after early when crusades starts to bring havoc and the AI hopelessy tries to engage an head on fight against the heavier catholics.
The Turkish are the perfect example... No matter what i do they goes down against either Byz or the Eggys (which are quite a surprise in your game, usually they are kept well on the defensive by the Byz until the Horde comes) unless i play with them of course...
Well just an update on how its going:-
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/Nimwan/MTW/ZXmod1230Almos.jpg
As you can see I am comfortably holding of the Catholics in Spain, (have well guarded Shipping lanes), have an uneasy alliance with the Egyptians. Alos mamged to bribe some rebels in Lesser Armenia, to get them V2 Armenian Heavies =D. And am starting the muslim influence in Scotland (holding that with a prince and Viking Mercs and some Crusader remnants (LOL). But yeah the Byzantines pretty much got owned by the Eggies same as the Turks the French got wiped by the English and HRE the others are just kinda holding there own. The pope re-emerged and the whole of italy changes from Egyptian to papal in the blink of an eye atm. O_O
I played on a few years and the mongols appeared basically carving a wedge down to Lesser Armenia (which I am now Jihading too =D) and up to Novgorod and Volhynia. The HRE had a civil which they seemed to have settled and the French re-emerged due to this. Egypt looks like it's in trouble against the Italians and the Horde. Italians are in Greece now, never seen that. O_o Oh yeah and Aragon has been my vassal guard faction against the Catholics since the begininng of the game. Good little catholics they are.
It's a great game atm (having said that I've never played as the Almo#s before), I'll give some specifics on how maybe to increase the playability after playing a few more factions. But atm I would say maybe give the French a little more cash in the beginning not much but a little more, maybe like 1000 extra. The Egyptians a little less maybe also 1000 less.
PS - Oh yeah I'm playing GA mode Hard btw. ;)
Hmm, quite interesting game so far...
It's interesting to see how the game seems to have a mind of its own, i've never see the eggys going expansionists as usually they struggle against the jedi katanks in the holy lands...
The Italians are more or less what expected, they are masters in sneaky attacks from the sea and can be a major pain if they manage to develop and keep the pope in check (there's nothing worse than have a stack of heavy troops landing in your coasts while your armies are busy elsewhere) even though AUM is a good counter to most of their units.
About the french i'd like to get more feedback before touching them as it's more a matter of luck than anything else right now... If they enjoy a few extra peaceful turns at the start you will see them owning the english as usual despite the money downgrade.
P.S. how are the Danish right now?
Well an update (still as Almohad's Hard GA mode):-
1250
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/Nimwan/MTW/ZXModAlmos1250.jpg
1300
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/Nimwan/MTW/ZXModAlmos1300.jpg
So after the Mongols appeared they beat up the eggies a bit and the russians but got caught up in too many wars and finally got annihilated from all sides. The Italians and have gone crazy on expansion in central Europe and along with the English are expanding, via crusades, to the middle east. The steppes are in a perpetual shate of shift from Novgorod to English and the HRE is surviving by the skin of it's teeth. The Swiss emerged which didn't help that matter. The French have reappeared twice but been beaten into Oblivion by the English both times. The Danes, Poles and Aragonese are just sitting and minding there own business. I killed off the pope in hope that he would dent the Italians on his re-emergence, he didn't survive a single turn. . . :dizzy2: ~D ~:eek:
Also some questions:-
You made Hashishin a 20 man unit? While this makes them a really battleworty unit and no longer a pure fluff unit, you should increase their cost a little maybe 25% and support likewise. On a sidenote the muslim influence has reached so far I have caused Muslim revolts in Wessex, with Hashishin appearing there. ~D Mwahahaha!!!
Sherwood Foresters are buildable for The English? And have you increased there numbers in the unit also? I have just seen a few too many for them to be bribed rebels. . . managed to pick up a mercenary unit of them. ;)
Also when the poles re-emerged in Prussia they appeared with about 4 units of Teutonic Seargeants amongst other units. This is to do with the region specific crusading orders, correct? Also it's nice to actually see the Saxon Huscarles for once, I guess they are region specific cusaders too?
Oh and a side note, I have clicked the GA mission sheild for Novgorods and both times I have had a CTD. Luckily I quick save often so it wasn't a problem. Just something I thought you could look at.
Good, you're starting to see some of the changes here and there...
But let's answer in order...
1) Now the Hashishin are upped to 20 men (they aren't the only unit with such a bonus, watch out the Danish!), i might consider upping the price a bit though support is less likely as it influences AI.... Oh, and nice rebellion farming ;-)
2) Sherwood foresters aren't buildable but the English gets them as a crusading bonus to offset their lack of order lands nearby (Toulouse is nearby but the french aren't too keen of leaving that in anyone's hands) and yes, they are now a full archer unit which makes them a powerful ally or opponent alone.
3) About the Teutonic Sergeants, they were in one of the order lands (after some reasearch there are quite a bit more places from where you can recruit the orders, it should also give a chance to passing crusades) so it's correct,though maybe i'll have to fix it as it's not realistic to get them as rebels...
4) Saxon Huscarles are a buildable English unit, so watch out for them as their requisites are a bit lower than their viking counterpart... It's likely I'll fix that too, hough i'm tempted to use them as Early royal unit... That might fix some problems with the French allowing me to give them their starting money back to the vanilla levels.
Are the English overpowered? (I'd say yes but that's why this is still a beta)
5) About Novgorod GA I'm aware of the bug but I'll have to tinker a lot before touching the homeland file as it's a pain to edit...
Finally, your game gives some surprises as the AI is behaving in a different fashion than in my tests... Not a bad thing as it is one of the reasons why MTW is evergreen.
Especially the Italians, they usually loves to do coastal invasions rather than continental conquest but it's nice to see them hacking their way for once...
My advice here is to avoid letting them grow too much as they are capable to mincemeat your cavalry with ILI and Halbs plus now they gets a bonus to crossbows in Genoa (like the Genoese Sailors weren't painful) so your AUM might have some problems too (but nothing really serious on that front... yet).
It looks like you're having a good game so far, I'll wait for more feedback as usual ;-)
P.S. Sicily got a nice bonus... Did you spot it?
edyzmedieval
06-25-2005, 10:02
The Novgorod bug is not from your mod Zarax... It's a CA bug....
I'm not sure if Novgorod appears on Vanilla GA, if it doesn't then it's a bug created by me...
edyzmedieval
06-25-2005, 12:34
It appears...ALso with the Pope.... Don't select them or it will CTD....
Hmm, maybe i'll ask VH how he changed the homelands...
. . .
3) About the Teutonic Sergeants, they were in one of the order lands (after some reasearch there are quite a bit more places from where you can recruit the orders, it should also give a chance to passing crusades) so it's correct,though maybe i'll have to fix it as it's not realistic to get them as rebels...
4) Saxon Huscarles are a buildable English unit, so watch out for them as their requisites are a bit lower than their viking counterpart... It's likely I'll fix that too, hough i'm tempted to use them as Early royal unit... That might fix some problems with the French allowing me to give them their starting money back to the vanilla levels.
Are the English overpowered? (I'd say yes but that's why this is still a beta)
. . .
P.S. Sicily got a nice bonus... Did you spot it?
Nah I'd say leave it the Rebelling crusading orders. . . "We will fight for the honour of our country, as long as you let us go kick some heathen a$$!" ~D
I would say definately do not downgrade anything for Saxon Huscarles. In fact I would make it so that the requirements were the same as the Danish ones maybe even adding a Royal palace/court into it too (if it isn't allready one). Because while the English aren't pwerful in early when they get to High and start whipping out the Billmen and Longbows they go expansionist and quickly.
And yeah bonus for spies. ~D
PS - I can't build Gallowglasses or Kerns in Ireland? That correct? Or were they always early only? :dizzy2:
Nah I'd say leave it the Rebelling crusading orders. . . "We will fight for the honour of our country, as long as you let us go kick some heathen a$$!" ~D
I would say definately do not downgrade anything for Saxon Huscarles. In fact I would make it so that the requirements were the same as the Danish ones maybe even adding a Royal palace/court into it too (if it isn't allready one). Because while the English aren't pwerful in early when they get to High and start whipping out the Billmen and Longbows they go expansionist and quickly.
And yeah bonus for spies. ~D
PS - I can't build Gallowglasses or Kerns in Ireland? That correct? Or were they always early only? :dizzy2:
What i have in mind about Saxon Huscarles is to put their requirements in line with the Viking counterpart and *maybe* use them as early royal english unit, replacing RK.
It is almost certain that I will do the first thing, the second one requires serious testing (but i might balance that making the saxon huscarles a early-only unit) and some cautious thinking about realism (the sicilians are now half fantasy as I confused normans with saxons).
About Kerns and Gallowglasses, they disappear in late along with all the "barbarian" units (by that time all factions have some serious flanker), which is more accurate from an historical point of view (armies were getting somewhat homogeneous with gunpodwer, the competition was moving on quality rather than roster advantages).
Ok, I'm working on a fix on the homelands problem (the crash is gone now, thanks to VikingHorde) but it won't be ready until I'll find a way to fix an issue related to changing the number of homelands per faction (that hopefully should lead to some AI improvements)...
Mithrandir
06-29-2005, 17:23
Unstickied.
Well game is in it's late stages now, probably easlily goona win the GA way. After taking out the English navy out they got a civil war and alot fo factions took advantage of it. Namely the Swiss and Egyptians. All in all nicely done. :bow:
Just I can't build Archers/Desert Archers in Late? If that's correct I would reccomend you putting them back. As far as I know armies used them well on into the 15thCentury and well they are damned useful. I always have a few units even when I've got access to crosbows and arbalests. Their rate of fire is so much higher that the Constant morale penalty they cause far outweighs their disadvantages. Also does this apply to the various bow armed cavalry? (That they are obsolete)
Same thing for catapults etc. I think they were still used up to and past the 15th Century. Plus it's nice to have a backup if you need to build artillery, fast. Or just a cheaper alternative.
Also the Vikings Royal Unit is Varangian Guards? Doesn't seem right, in Historical context or in gameplay. I would suggest make it either the Joms Viking Unit from VI (Maybe rename it 'Viking RoyalGuards' [imaginative eh] or leave as is). Or even better make it just plain Huscarles. Then at least you can replenish them. Instead of them having about 25 units of 1 guy by then end of the game. :(
Also (it may have just been me, was playing a tad late :dizzy2: ), but I think i saw a few crusades going around from the same faction. Didn't it used to be limited to one at a time. Otherwise they become like an overpowered Jihad. Being able to go to any non-catholic province. Unlike Jihads which can only go to a previously old one.
But yeah. Good Job. ~:) I'll get on with playing either, Russians/Novgorod or English next. Just to see if the Player playing in a different place has a major effect on the outcome.
Well game is in it's late stages now, probably easlily goona win the GA way. After taking out the English navy out they got a civil war and alot fo factions took advantage of it. Namely the Swiss and Egyptians. All in all nicely done. :bow:
Thanks, please note that the muslim factions aren't really tested especially in GA as I tend to be a cath/byz GD player
Just I can't build Archers/Desert Archers in Late? If that's correct I would reccomend you putting them back. As far as I know armies used them well on into the 15thCentury and well they are damned useful. I always have a few units even when I've got access to crosbows and arbalests. Their rate of fire is so much higher that the Constant morale penalty they cause far outweighs their disadvantages. Also does this apply to the various bow armed cavalry? (That they are obsolete)
I disabled vanilla archers/horse archers as their usefulness is minimal in late and it doesn't really help the AI to tech up when you have easily buildable units...
That said, you should be able to keep using most specialistic archers as they got composite bow which makes them even better (composite bow is halfway between vanilla and longbow with a very slight bonus to ROF).
I'll look and eventually fix the desert archers...
Same thing for catapults etc. I think they were still used up to and past the 15th Century. Plus it's nice to have a backup if you need to build artillery, fast. Or just a cheaper alternative.
Well, citadels outclasses most older artillery, i might leave trebs and mangonels if you think it's better,,,
Also the Vikings Royal Unit is Varangian Guards? Doesn't seem right, in Historical context or in gameplay. I would suggest make it either the Joms Viking Unit from VI (Maybe rename it 'Viking RoyalGuards' [imaginative eh] or leave as is). Or even better make it just plain Huscarles. Then at least you can replenish them. Instead of them having about 25 units of 1 guy by then end of the game. :(
Well, the Danish royal units are: Huscarles (early), EarlyVG (high) and VG (late).
It is a small gameplay compromise i made, not totally unrealistic as historically many ex BG soldiers came back home to finish their carreer, often serving in the same roles.
The issue you're encountering is due to the fact huscarles and VG are set as quite high tech level (like knights, just replace the horse breeder with swordsmith) and so the AI still got some problems with building them (optimization in progress)...
Also (it may have just been me, was playing a tad late :dizzy2: ), but I think i saw a few crusades going around from the same faction. Didn't it used to be limited to one at a time. Otherwise they become like an overpowered Jihad. Being able to go to any non-catholic province. Unlike Jihads which can only go to a previously old one.
Crusades are hardcoded to be one per faction IIRC, however the AI is famous to cheat there... I thought it was solved as crusades and jihads got their prices doubled... Unfortunately I can't do much more on that side...
But yeah. Good Job. ~:) I'll get on with playing either, Russians/Novgorod or English next. Just to see if the Player playing in a different place has a major effect on the outcome.
Thanks again ~:) Beware that Novgorod GA doesn't work (fixed in next version but i'm having issues with the homelands file) and the Russians might be unbalanced as they received little testing.
The English are a good (though a bit overpowered as player) choice, especially if you like crusading...
it crashes...
it just shuts down and goes back to windows with no error message
I hope it doesn't do the same when i put the unmodded files back
actually don't worry, i know what i did wrong
i replaced the entire camp map file with the camp map for your mod, which doesn't have a load of other files in it, so i just took out the start position file and replaced it with the start pos folder in your camp map folder
o_O'
Err... didn't the installer work?
It just replaces the needed files without touching anything else, or at least it worked that way until today...
A new update is in progress, it should be available in a few hours...
If you got any quick fix/feature request this would be the best moment
Update!
- Fixed some balancing issues
- Novgorod GA should work now
- Brought a "new" unit from VI
temp address: http://microsoftuse.temp.powweb.com/hosted/ZxMod.exe
edyzmedieval
07-03-2005, 19:50
Have you unlocked the following:
Early Varangian Guard
Dismounted Faris
Noble Footmen
BKB and VH have unlocked them in their mods....
Have you unlocked the following:
Early Varangian Guard
Dismounted Faris
Noble Footmen
BKB and VH have unlocked them in their mods....
EVG - Yes, you can play with them as the Danish or the Byz (Katanks get those as dismounted units)
Dismounted Faris - You'll get them by dismounting the Faris (no need to get them as separate unit imho), they should be available in any battle
Dismounted Nobles - Tey aren't a separate unit (again, I've got my own policy on dismounted versions) but a number of cavalry can dismount into them, some in open battle too.
Dismounted Knights: You get them either the usual way (in sieges), as mercs or by using RK (who can dismount in open battle)
edyzmedieval
07-04-2005, 09:18
Zarax, how do I unlock them?!
Ealry Varangian Guard
Noble Footmen
.......
Zarax, how do I unlock them?!
Ealry Varangian Guard
Noble Footmen
.......
EVG: You need the danish and swordsmith2 + royal court or byz and dismount kataphracts
Dismounted nobles: most heavy cav can dismount into them + lithuanian cav and polish retainers
foot knights: you can get them as mercs
If you want to build the units in different conditions just grab the gnome editor and play with the unit_prod settings.
edyzmedieval
07-04-2005, 11:04
I just wanna make them available for training!!!!
But the problem is, the animation and graphics are setted up?!
You just have to mod the requisites then, it's 2 minutes work with Gnome editor...
Admins, sorry for doing a bit of thread necromancy but it's for a good reason...
Beta 2.5 will be ready in a couple of days, I've been working on game balancing and AI with very promising results so far.
The game balance is now good enough to allow every faction to get a chance to expand under AI control, even the Turkish manages to survive the Early era...
But, surprise of surprises I finally managed to see the reason of why I started working on this mod:
https://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a100/zarax/Image4.jpg
It may not be realistic but isn't it great that the Danish AI managed to develop enough to do such a thing?
hehe. Good one. But I once sorted the danes problem by just giving them Huscarles as their Royal Unit. 50% of the time the would rampage all ofwestern Europe, the other 50% they would just act like normal. AI. . . :dizzy2:
I was gonna start a russian game with it but I'll wait until you add the next version. Busy tweaking the XL mod myself atm. :book:
In my games the Danish never made serious moves until i gave them a few bonuses and a navy...
Now they acts like the Vikings in VI, also sharing a similar roster.
If you try the Russians watch out as they are quite harder to play as they loses the "free" FFK with Druzhina (now they gets FMAA) and halbs too.
To compensate this they gets the Rus Spearmen (that are like ILI) and a "new" heavy-ish cavalry unit (Mounted Nobles), making mercenaries a necessity more than a choice against the Horde...
VikingHorde
07-15-2005, 19:52
But, surprise of surprises I finally managed to see the reason of why I started working on this mod:
It may not be realistic but isn't it great that the Danish AI managed to develop enough to do such a thing?
Do you mean that danish crusades are not realistic? The Danes made one to Pomerania and one to estonia (I think). I remember seing a picture in a book with the danish king and archbishop Absalon overseing the destruction of pagan sculptures ~:) . I did not include crusades for the danes in my mod because I wanted to limit the amount of crusades going to the middle east ~;) .
No, I meant Danish crusading to Egypt being unrealistic, I enabled all catholics to crusade and doubled the cost to balance it.
This way only the nations with a strong economy are able to launch such a costly enterprise, meaning that it is very rare that more than 2 factions are able to.
This however makes things more interesting as the player when turtling, as the Byzantines I've been hit by two crusades at once, one from HRE and one from the Huns...
Facing the Eggys on the other side they actually managed to break my defensive perimeter and required several fights to put them down... Unfortunately for them i always keep a stack of "royal guard" in my capital, meaning that as the Byz they faced 16 units of fully upgraded Katanks led by an 8 start prince.
Needless to say, 1500 crusaders met a sound defeat at the hands of 800 of my best troops while in Bulgaria my king regrouped and slaughtered the light armed Hungarians
edyzmedieval
07-16-2005, 10:17
No, I meant Danish crusading to Egypt being unrealistic, I enabled all catholics to crusade and doubled the cost to balance it.
This way only the nations with a strong economy are able to launch such a costly enterprise, meaning that it is very rare that more than 2 factions are able to.
This however makes things more interesting as the player when turtling, as the Byzantines I've been hit by two crusades at once, one from HRE and one from the Huns...
Good job making the Crusades a bit expensive.... Now we won't see 5-6 crusades going to Palestina or Tripoli.....
BTW, Huns=Hungarians?!
And also, why has Mithraandir unstickied the post?!
Good job making the Crusades a bit expensive.... Now we won't see 5-6 crusades going to Palestina or Tripoli.....
BTW, Huns=Hungarians?!
And also, why has Mithraandir unstickied the post?!
Huns are Hungarians, it's the way many people shorten their name...
About the post being unstickied it think it's because this thread should go to one of the MTW modding forums... But then it would be overshadowed by bigger, more advanced mods that I don't really mean to compete with.
I'm now tinkering Novgorod again, it doesn't play too bad but the AI is a bit discountinuous... Sometimes it just sits down like the Danish used to while in other games it goes and conquers the steppes in competition with the Byz... At least until the horde comes ~;)
Once some other minor tweaks are finished the update should be by tomorrow.
If no one finds bugs or gameplay issues I'll start working on Beta3, which will improve high and late plus it will tinked with the units description a bit in order to fit better with the tweaks that have been made.
I might also make the Horde playable sooner or later but don't hold your breath on it...
Update!
With this one I think Early is pretty much finished bar some minor tweaks or bug fixes.
As usual, your feedback is *very* appreciated!
- Overall AI is improved and now produces better unit mixes
- Added a "new" unit from VI
- Sicilian roster has been changed: no more unhistorical saxon units
temp address: http://microsoftuse.temp.powweb.com/hosted/ZxMod.exe
Mithrandir
07-17-2005, 17:52
And also, why has Mithraandir unstickied the post?!
I like to use the sticky feature to highlight threads, if there are 10 stickies, the stickies don't stand out anymore.
I like to use the sticky feature to highlight threads, if there are 10 stickies, the stickies don't stand out anymore.
That's correct Mithandir, it can be easily noticed in the modding forums.
Guys, I need some help...
Somehow the files both in my folders and the servers got corrupted in the last version...
Can someone please send me the working version they have at zarax999@hotmail.com ?
Thanks
Thanks, it will be mostly useful if I will not be able to track down the problem, although I've got a few ideas on where it lies...
Hmm, that was a quite early version...
If anyone got the installer .exe version please send it, that would save me a week of rollback work...
Ok, I've got the closest release thanks to Barocca, it looks like the game didn't like a few AI "optimization" tricks I made...
A fixed (and improved) version will be available later this day.
Ok, the fixed version is online, grab it from the second link in my sig...
The AI should now make a better use of the navy and manage better the overall economy.
Pericles
07-30-2005, 22:40
*Bump*
Hopefully, this thread will be stickied soon...
Cheers!
Pericles
08-05-2005, 16:49
Zarax:
A few suggestions:
1) It would be very helpful if the version of your mod (v2.0, etc) was labelled either in your first post and/or on the download itself. This helps to keep track of the latest version of your mod.
2) I did a little research and found out that most archers (both foot and horse) in the vanilla game have too few arrows. As most players know most in-game archers run out of arrows fairly quickly.
In real life most foot archers rarely ran out of arrows. For example, in England foot archers carried two sheaves of arrows (24 arrows each for a total of 48 arrows). In addition, baggage trains often accompanied the armies and these carried hundreds of thousands of arrows. In the Battle of Crecy about 5,000 English archers unleashed tens of thousands of arrows and not one archer ran out of arrows.
I have modified my unit production text file like this:
* foot archers have 48 arrows
* foot archers who also use swords have 35 arrows
* horse archers have 35 arrows
* Mongol horse archers have 45 arrows (they carried lots of arrows)
* foot crossbowmen have 30 arrows
I have done the above to give most archers more arrows without giving them unlimited arrows, so this would not unbalance the game.
Thanks.
Well, most updates are just minor things, so there aren't major gameplay changes between them, marking a new version should get a bigger work...
Anyways, I'd increase the arrows for most archers but there are some gameplay issues to evaluate, as events like the horde would be much harder to manage as well as factions like the turkish... You really need the archers to give pause in longer battles, otherwise any superior tactic could be countered by a spear wall and "death from above"...
Pericles
08-05-2005, 21:37
Thanks.
Well, most updates are just minor things, so there aren't major gameplay changes between them, marking a new version should get a bigger work...
Anyways, I'd increase the arrows for most archers but there are some gameplay issues to evaluate, as events like the horde would be much harder to manage as well as factions like the turkish... You really need the archers to give pause in longer battles, otherwise any superior tactic could be countered by a spear wall and "death from above"...
Yes, I have thought about the issues you raised.
However, I have found that I manage to decimate HA units long before they (HA) run out of arrows.
Your last point does raise some concerns, especially under ideal conditions.
However, I have found that AI factions, especially the Byz (with their 7 star wonder generals) can usually drive up with their mighty Saracen infantry and poke through that wall of spears.
I'm currently testing it all in-game.
Perhaps one solution would be to make the foot archers more expensive and/or force them to train for two years (in real life it took a long time to train good archers).
Just a few thoughts.
I do not want to unbalance the game; just trying to find a reasonable balance.
Cheers!
Why don't you post the question in the main hall, maybe having the option to vote?
I think it's a good way to get the right feedback as after all that's where the potential users are.
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