DUX: a VI MP enhancement mod

[L'Impresario]

https://img398.imageshack.us/img398/2797/duxlogo8lb.jpg (https://imageshack.us)

DUX: a VI MP enhancement mod
Created by [VDM]Alexandros_R & [VDM]BuuKenshin

OVERVIEW

The DUX mod is a relatively small project by me (Alexandros) and BuuKenshin of clan VDM,
whose initial concept had been just to provide a set of stats for the very successful BKB Supermod. No major gameplay or stat changes were planned, only a relatively playable format for a multiplayer setting, as the initial prices were presenting a big obstacle to balance.
Gradually interest for VI MP diminished, while mods such as the Samurai Wars one, were more than adequate to provide a different and quite more interesting than “vanilla” VI game. Unfortunately (well, at least from one point of view), the 1.2 RTW patch rekindled some (short-lived) interest for some VI players, so a further setback was noted, one that brought mod games in the VI lobby to 0, ofcourse with the remarkable exception of NTW.
As gameplay and armies were becoming once more repetitive (as far as normal10-15k games go),the CWC “Knights of Honour” tournament rules were conceived and became the norm among the group of 50-60 regular VI players, with occasional 10k games still making an appearance. Still, many players (and among them yours truly) while admitting that they offered more balance and promoted more varied armies, the rules were promoting the same heavy cavalry overuse, esp. in team games, and exploits could be found, ofcourse to a lesser extent than in VI. It also proved hard to provide some kind of intuitive gameplay, due to deceiving prices.
Not having any other ambition than to save my opponents from the time-consuming of randomly building an interesting army by using even remotely useful units, we started formulating the DUX mod, using a variety of ideas and personal observations made by playing a host of other mods during those last 2 years, namely the “Community Mod”, “La Reconquista”, our own [VDM]Ein’s “V202”, the “Samurai Wars” and combining them with the huge amount of work put in the SuperMod’s technical area. Most solutions provided to real or perceived issues of VI do use many already known and recognisable patterns.
Recognising the difficulty of getting players to play any mod, this one was made in order to be used by the same people who could actually enjoy games around or a bit lower than 7k VI, with the relatively limited amount of players active working as a positive factor for distribution purposes.


MOD FEATURES

-More Balanced Gameplay : By using the “zero upgrades” approach and prices being increments of 100, a much greater number of units could be balanced and denote clearly a distinct “rock-paper-scissors” system, with a few subcategories among them, serving specialised battle tasks. As ChivalricKnights(AT5–DEF5–MRL8–CH9) cost 1200 and can rout a FeudalMenAtArms(AT3-DEF4-MRL5-CH3) costing 600 unit head-on in little time if allowed a clear charge -if not instantly-, one will be forced to invest either in equally expensive cav to stop the CK, or substitute that FMAA with 500 florins FeudalSergeants or 700 fl. ChivalricSergeants, both fuly capable of stopping a charge by one of the strongest cavalry units in the mod. It is of value here to note that most VI units keep their original stats, at least in CH,AT,DEF. Morale though is a very important gameplay factor, therefore much thought was given at the formula that would offer a more intense feeling in combat than 10k but not very unpredictable and hard to learn. So normal combat units have around 5-6 morale, with lower quality ones or just those suited specifically for harassing or skirmishing getting down even to 3. Spears right now do have comparable morale with swords so in a straighforward attack with FMAA or CMAA against a solid spear line of good,steady ( worth 700+ florins) units, there are high chances that ,unless an external factor comes into play, the spears will keep the swords occupied for a long time with high casualties for both sides. But usually if swords are used in wedge or manage to envelop at least one side, the spears won’t be holding for long. A boost to heavy cavalry charges is another incentive not to depend too much on one type of arm and will also cater to the tastes of those who believed that charges were too weak in VI: just wait till you see the results of a charge from the elite crusader cavalry.

-More Options : 13 new factions and a complete lifting to the old ones. BKB’s work allows us to offer a breathtaking amount of new units (over 70), all used to provide the player with more customisation options and allow room for an amazing number of army combinations.

-Simpler Army-building Process : What you see is what you get; even if you choose units without knowing their exact stats , you will stand a chance against any enemy, simply because you don’t need to memorise the standard armies and each unit’s required upgrades, or fear any type of rush armies. If you play prudently, chances are that you’ll be rewarded, as mistakes allowed in 10k VI will be punished to a greater extent, due to the new morale scale.

-A Reasonable Amount of Historical Accuracy : The mod covers approximately the period between 1180 and 1320. Efforts were made to maintain a realistic army selection for each faction, without sacrifising possibly interesting gameplay additions. Some units have less historical backing than others, but a certain degree of abstractions was necessary, as the game engine can’t offer things like multiple melee or missile weapons, area fire, parthian shots etc. Still we believe that the factions in the DUX mod are diverse and unique in many ways, letting the player field a believable army, without an excessive number of “elite” units.

-Lots of Tweaks : The vast number of small changes can't be detailed here, although it’s imperative to highlight the inclusion of concepts like:
a)“mercenary/rare units” (as in the additional 100 florins a faction can pay in order to have a few premium, usually mercenary, units that enhance its fighting style- eg the Byzantines have a pool of elite steppe units ,and even western knights, that can be employed with an extra cost)
b)the 3 “A”s : Ammo/Accuracy/Armour differentiation (the quality of missile units is represented by the number of ammo,their accuracy level and armour/shield, removing unbalancing factors like the longbow’s extra range)
c) Speed tweaking (slow infantry units no longer crawl behind the others when walking, fast light cavalry gets a small boost to their charging speed in order to help them fullfil their HA chasing duties etc)
d)Reduced defence stats for the basic missile units versus cavalry, so as to promote a more intense skirmishing phase, but not sufficient to give an edge to rush armies.
e)Different sizes for the same unit types (Golden Horde specific, allows 60-men Horse Archers and Mongol Horse Archers Units to be fielded)
…and many others!

-Regular Updates : After a number of games, we might consider some changes for balance purposes, and player feedback will guide any future finetuning.

-No second VI-install needed : By installing the Dux mod, the Generic Mod Enabler by JoneSoft contained within allows you to switch from VI mode to Dux mode easily and safely. If you wish to uninstall the Dux mod, simply delete the MODS folder inside the main MTW/VI folder (usually C:\Program Files\Total War\Medieval - Total War).

- A custom music pack to be downloaded seperately, created by Silent-Faust

Please remember that the mod is created for play at a certain amount of florins per player, namely 10.000.


Additional information and the credits are to be found in the README file!

Many thanks to TosaInu for kindly accepting to host the mod!

Also to Adherbal for finding us an extra host (and maybe being willing to host the music pack when it gets some set-up instructions;))

Last but not least, we should not forget to mention Phoinix_Mas' contributions to the mod, like the logo and the new unit graphics. We are glad to have you onboard:)

LOG
5/3/06: Version 0.4 released


LINKS
---New Version (0.4)
http://mizus.com/dux

---Older Versions
http://www.mizus.com/Files/k0rgs8gVt/MTW/Stats/Dux0.2beta.zip
http://www.thegregersens.com/TempFiles/Dux0.2beta.zip
http://tosainu.demon.nl/files/files/mtw/stats/Dux0.2beta.zip
http://rapidshare.de/files/9381119/Dux0.2beta.zip.html
http://www.3ddownloads.com/totalwar/MTW/Stats/Dux0.2beta.zip

MUSIC
http://mizus.com/duxmusic

SITE
http://dux.atspace.com/index.html (Under Construction)

FORUM
http://p209.ezboard.com/fclanofvalidusduxmundusfrm21

Currently organising this one as well: http://dux.forumfree.org/index.php?&act=idx (http://dux.forumfree.org/index.php?&act=idx)

http:\\mizus.com\infodux

[buujin]

For all those who have recently downloaded this mod !

Myself, Alex and many others will be meeting this evening from around 8pm GMT onwards to play a few games of Dux, please feel free to come and join us! You wont be dissapointed ;)

Buu

[Tomisama]

All Hail The Mighty DUX :viking:

This sounds like the rebirth VI, and that me thinks is a Grand Idea :san_grin:

Thanks in advance Alex and Buu. Hats off to ye both ~:cheers:

[L'Impresario]

Thanks a lot Tomisama, we hope as well that this mod will be embraced by all those who faithfully stay in VI and also anyone who just wanted an incentive or an excuse to return.
These last weeks had been quite hectic, but it seems it has been worth it:)

[AggonyDuck]

I'm highly sceptical about the mod myself and anyways until the end of the CWC I will prioritise the normal game. After that I might give it a shot. :san_undecided:

[L'Impresario]

Your loss, Fossilducky:san_tongue:

[buujin]

Why are u sceptical ducky ?

[Scurvy]

"d)Reduced defence stats for the basic missile units versus cavalry, so as to promote a more intense skirmishing phase, but not sufficient to give an edge to rush armies."

no more 6 pavs armies for me then....

Im a bit skeptical but willing to try :)

[AggonyDuck]

Firstly mods have a very bad habit of dividing a community. Also I'm quite happy with how the game works currently and the argument of making the game more balanced isn't always true with mods. Often according to my experience mods result in new unbalancing factors. Anyways I did download the mod though...:san_huh:

[L'Impresario]

Ducky


Firstly mods have a very bad habit of dividing a community.

Well I don't agree with you (would hosting custom map games or a late era game be considered the same?), it's just an extra era that you install once, and, here's a tip, you can even play normal VI games with the DUX mod activated, if you can bear with some unit graphic anomalies. Else you just need a couple of minutes to log out and use the modswitcher. Surely explaining any rules in VI games to people who have never heard em before is more time consuming and risky. OTOH, you have a game that plays at 0 upgrades, it can't get more intuitive.Anyway my views on balance are quite clear, should you have read the first post. We can always use constructive criticism.
We'd love to hear about new unbalancing factors, there may be things we overlooked. This is a live project, not something set in stone. It's an interactive process that can be enriched and smoothened.

In the end everyone can play what they want, forcing people to stay content with the vanilla game isn't in anyone's wishes. Many of the best games I had on VI were with mods, esp the Comm mod one. I do admire the NTW developers and players, quite impressive feats they have achieved.
We could discuss the shortcomings of the current VI game if you wish, although it's a horse that's barely surviving;)

Curvy Scurvy

Well, there 're lots of surprises for you heh
Now you can even get some Xbowmen hybrids with good shields, like the genoese ones. Also vanilla xbowmen are already posessing decent morale and defense compared to their cost (as cost relations are different now, even if most VI stats stay the same), so we had to slightly liven up the skirmishing phase.

[buujin]

Ok ducky

Well im pretty sure you will enjoy the mod, so hopefully see you online soon.

:)

[AggonyDuck]

Yup, I better try the mod before I continue to talk against it...:san_grin:

[Tomisama]

I'm highly sceptical about the mod myself and anyways until the end of the CWC I will prioritise the normal game. After that I might give it a shot. :san_undecided:

With Aggony so close to the title of Early Era Champions in the Knights of Valour Competition, not wanting to loose focus on playing with the current CWC rules is perfectly understandable.

But would like to put forward that there is less difference “functionally” between playing the DUX mod and playing with the KoV valour rules, than there is between playing the KoV rules and playing vanilla VI.

So if you are currently playing both of those, I don’t think that DUX will compromise your game in any way :san_grin:

[L'Impresario]

Yes, true words Tomi, if we can say that base morale in KoV CWC is 4-5 (apart from the heavy cav armies, where it gets again close to 8 ) and the swords have a diminished role, then you can directly find quite a few basic similarities with DUX. Ofcourse I did suspect that Ducky wouldn't want attention to be driven away from the CWC;)

[AggonyDuck]

Well I tried it and something really disturbed me......that is the question, why doesn't the Il-Khanate have access to Mongol Horse Archers? :san_huh:

[L'Impresario]

They do have MHA, as well as Turcomans and HA. What they don't have is the 60-men MHA and HA, which is a Golden Horde specific element that is there to make up for the lack of any xbows or armoured archer, and to better show their historical reliance on HA tactics(ofcourse for an extra cost than 40 men HA and MHA).

BTW, we have spotted a few omissions in some units (like a +1 def and mrl that the templar foot knights got by mistake), and we could use a greater number of people playing so s to fix all that may go wrong within the first weeks of January.

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

Nice to see you guys got this off the ground, great work. I might give it a try at some point.

[buujin]

Thanks again BKB, without you none of it would have not have been possible. :happyg:

We had several great 4v4 games yesterday which were very successful.
A big thanks to all who came along to play, including :

MizuTosaInu
Hunter King Goerge
Tiger MaCod
AggonyAdherbal
MaxTheLeveller
UgliestSoul
Scias

and ofc ChaosSimooooooooooo and Silent Saint Cain who have helping and beta testing since we first starting making the mod. Thanks guys

:ave:

Hope to see you all online again soon !

[Scurvy]

hmm im enjoying playing as the danes (with cautious optimism) i keep managing to break centre but still loose which im still trying to work out :P

il be on 2moro 8.30 GMT and in need of a host :)

[L'Impresario]

Yes, I remember those games hehe
The danes are pretty strong infantry wise, but lack fast cavalry to give chase to routers, and if you decide to commit too many florins on those danish nobles and schwertbrüder foot, then you must sacrifice the heavy cav.

I think hosts will be plenty during that time;)

[Hunter KIng George]

You guys are the ones we should thank for creating the mod!~:thumb:

[Scurvy]

yay i finally got it work (against buu and saint-cain i think) and only needed 3 units of cav :P :charge: :viking: i think the 0 val rule makes cav a lot less effective (which is good)

[buujin]

Heavy cav are actaully now even more effective than they were in VI...

The thing is, now the knights cost a lot more, so its impossible to get an army of purely elite troops. Armies in Dux must consist of a good balance between heavy and light, expensive and inexpensive troops. A well timed charge from a unit of chivalric knights can sweep the battlefield clean!, but if you want the rest of your army to be strong, taking more than 2 or 3 units of CK is a bad plan.

The same applies to infantry, for 900 florrins you can buy hospitaller spearmen which will repell almost any attack if used correctly.. But IF your entire main line is made of hospitaller spearmen, chances are your cavalry forces will be quite meager.. and so you will be more suseptable to getting flanked during the melee which renders any heavy spear unit almost useless.


Happy Dux'ing !

Ill see you all online later :happyg:

[Scurvy]

hmm im not sure about the h.cavs being better, they might be statistically but if u can only take 1 unit due to florins cost they are completely nulified as 1 unit of inf can hold them up for whole battle np

ya cya later :rtwyes:

[L'Impresario]

but if u can only take 1 unit due to florins cost they are completely nulified as 1 unit of inf can hold them up for whole battle np

Yes, but that unit will have to be a spear, and it's not always very hard just to disengage, although if you admittedly commit the mistake of charging them head on with pointy-stick bearers, then you've already wasted lots of money. Still any cav with a good charge (>6) and decent attack (>3) can annihilate most non-spears by hitting them frontally.
Plus there are many cav unit tiers, with the lower cost ones serving different roles, usually not having to do with slugging it out vs infantry in a prolonged melee, like a ck could do in some cases.

[Scurvy]

i'l take your word for it :D :viking: :horn:

[_mas_]

Hi Alex, Buu and all Vik players,

I have some idea about Dux mod.
We can modify/add unit graphic, and add/correct historical units for many factions.
But one only condition is necessary for this great work:Dux mod must be "Foyer mod".............if many guys play Dux mod the work on it is justified ,otherwise not.
I hope you understand me and sorry for my bad english :(

:ave:
Happy new year
:ave:


Phoinix_Mas

[L'Impresario]

Yes I know what you mean Mas, and in VI there aren't many people anyway, but that's why it's somewhat easier to inform people about the mod, and we get questions about it in the lobby everyday. The more people get informed the easier it all becomes, esp. with the older players that have beared with 10k and 15k florins gameplay for too long and are willing to adopt a more active posture towards how much better the game could be made.
As long as players seek something new and can be imaginative, the initial problems of waiting for the last guy to come for that 4v4 will find remedy.
A good thing is that we have at least 20-25 people already with the mod and I' ve noticed that this whole effort makes us come closer to many people we didn't know that well previously.
The mod afterall doesn't require a second install, and one can simply remove it or keep it deactivated if one doesn't find it a good gaming platform, for whatever reasons that may be.

Furthermore, I had mentioned previously that historical accuracy is always considered, but, above all, it is to be brought in juxtaposition with gameplay. But input is kindly requested, even though ideas about completely new unit graphics are hard to realise, due to the very strenuous VI unit creation process.

Felice anno nuovo anche a te:)

[Boudicea]

Hi there Buu, I have finally found it! YAY!

[L'Impresario]

Hello Crow, good to have you with us:)
I guess Buu won't be able to post here for a week or so, skiing vacation are awful indeed:p

[Keith_the_Great]

sounds very impressive :2thumbsup: and a lot of hard work :2thumbsup:

[Scurvy]

hmm yeah, it is a great mod :) and i suppose buu's skiing holiday is also impressive and a lot of work? :2thumbsup:

[_mas_]

I would like to suggest some modifications/addictions to Dux Mod relating to the game “mechanism” and to the units:




Venice :- PAVISE SPEARS- Spear with Pavise (typical italian inf) slow (you can use Paesants bif)- replace mtw general chivarly sergents
- LIGHT CAV- (in italian Cavalleggeri) Spear or sword ,Fast,low cost
- BELLATORES- Light infantry-axe-poor defence-good morale-fast
- ITALIAN MERCENARY-(Milanese,Florentine,Pisan and other..)-medium infantry-replace generic mtw Order foot.
- Add for Venice and Latin states SAILORS -generic marine infantry armed with bow

Latin States:- MELINGOI JAVELINMEN- Light infantry-Jav-axe-small shield-poor armour-fast
-GREEK ARCHONTES-medium cav-
-ITALIAN MERCENARy-up
-PAVISE SPEARS-up


Papal :- ROMAN NOBLES - Knight-cav (same as feudal)spear,small shield
- ITALIAN MERCENARY-up


Hre : - BRABANCON MERC.CAV -Horse Archers,small shield,sword
- SAXON AXEMEN -medium infantry(60 men),axe ,no shield,poor armour,good morale
- LOW COUNTRIES PIKEMEN -medium inf-pike-no shield-medium low morale-poor armour

England :- WELSH MERCENARY CAV-Light cav-sword-small shield- fast
:- BIDOWER- (Gascon) -light infantry -javellin-small shield- axe-poor armour ,good morale-fast

Sveden :- SKYTTEN- armoured cav with crossbow-good armour-sword-high cost-

Bulgars :- VOYNUK MERCENARY- (serbian) medium infantry (100), spear,discipled
- VLASTELA MERCENARY- (serbian) Knight-cav ( same as feudal)
- ZAMANITCHKA VOYSKA(serbian)-replace generic mtw Slav Warriors (the same but in slav lang)
- ZERA-Horse archer- replace generic mtw horse archer
- VLACH CAV- medium cav


Hungarian:- CROATIAN INFANTRY-medium infantry(100)-spear-
-JOBBAGIONES CASTRI-Heavy infantry(60)-sword-small shield-
-ZAMANITCHKA VOYSKA-up


France :- BRABANCON MERC. CAV.-Horse archers,small shield,sword
- FLEMISH SPEARS - medium infantry(100)-spear-large oval shield-



I think could be nice to translate the name of the following units in Greek(for Byza)and add this:



Byzantine - VARDARIOTAI or PARAMONAI-imperial guard-elite (40 men) - sword and oval shield-
- KONTARATOI-Heavy infantry(100)-spears-discipled...replace mtw generic Byzantine infantry.
- SKYTHIKON - Horse archers-fast-sword-small oval shield-
- LATINIKON -(frank cav same as feudal cav or Knight)
- PELTASTOI - light infantry -jav -fast-poor armour-medium morale-small shield-axe
- KATAPHRAKTOI-I dont Know why you not included this cav....
- GEORGIAN MERCENARY-You can make a unit with 60 men with sword and oval shields like feudal maa (use Viking bif) or like Mtiulebi.

For crossbow and pavise crossbow were only mercenaries not native units in Byza Army.
If possible, remove or replace generic mtw names "Chivalry" or" Order" for all factions.

Referring to the game play I think that a decrease in the cost of Horse archers should be advisable. 500 florins for a “spendable” unit seems much (on my opinion) and in fact I didn’t see many gamers expose themselves to the archers/xbows shooting. Losses caused by Horse archers with a lower price should acquire a greater “value” and could became more “important” in the battle overall economics. The same is, on my opinion, for the CUMAN CAV whose price is too high. If you consider the hipotesys not to use it in skirmish its price is overestimate. Of course I agree that the price of a CAV unit with ranged weapon should be high considering the “double” opportunity of this unit to cause damage to the enemy … anyway this “opportunity” seems more theoretical than real if we consider the great “fire power” of archers and xbows… so the real employ is when inf are in close combat staying behind them..

I realize that the cost of all units has been proportioned but a lower price for CAV ARCHERS should promote a nicer “SKIRMISH PHASE”.

I think also that could be good to add in each faction some new “HIBRID UNITS” to use as infantry support. I will try to provide in next post some more detailed info about other factions..

Greetings..:laugh4: :laugh4:

Max the Leveller cannot write on this forum but to greet all vik players:balloon2:

[Scurvy]

why can max not post?! and i didnt read that whole post (looked a bit long) but the improvement i saw looked about right, dont forget tho, danish nobles should be cheaper, and danes should get scandinavian axemen :)

[_mas_]

why can max not post?!

I think because he is a new member(Junior member) cannot post now...:dizzy2:

[Scurvy]

o, okay :P

[L'Impresario]

Good suggestions there, they 're all taken into account and when Buu returns, we 'll see what can be realised. But do keep in mind:

-We have only 255 slots for units and we already use 210, so I would prefer not to have the same unit with a different name occupy an extra slot, eg. like the Latinikon, which is represented by Latin Knights at a +100 cost or the skythikon, already represented by various steppe mercs. I can comment many of them, and will start to discuss thoroughly about them when work for the patch is about to commence (a week I guess). Then we'll try to find the right graphics for any additions and hopefully even get some completely new ones;)

-Horse Archers are priced 400, same as a Pavise Crossbowmen unit, and they may have -2 def compared to them and naturally a lower armour rating, but: they are a fast cavalry unit, they have +1 charge, +4 ammo and a considerably faster shooting rate. So they are fulfilling quite distinct roles, and can be used as flankers to great effect, given that the morale level is lower than VI 10k, thus upgrading the use of fast cavalry, nomatter what their combat stats are. They also carry out one of the most important missions in the current game, that of chasing routers. We 've already seen quite a few games with the routed army regrouping and then picking one by one the dispersed enemy units. The use of HA is more related to how a player uses them than all other unit types. When a single HA can go easily to the other flank, and your pavs or archers must make a small sprint there, then you get some tactical flexibility, making the enemy dance to your tune. Dispensible they are not;) I can't really stress the importance of having such a unit when the enemy is unable either to catch em, or has to weaken his pav line. That's why you'll see people getting archers, apart from their xbows.
Also Cuman HA cost 1000 for the Cumans and 1100 for all others. If you take into account all their stats (3-3) and abilities, then you get not a HA per se, but a flexible fast cav which can fight, charge effectively non-knights, shoot, catch all other fast cav (as it is within the fast+1 category, giving them a charge boost) and as such, it is a significant investment.

-Hybrid units are quite plenty I'd say, and they should remain a property of mostly eastern armies, as to portray their reliance on a different set of tactics than westerners. It really does add up to variety.


Regarding Scurv's suggestions, the danish axemen are already quite powerful, with an attack of 5+AP and a defense of 5 as well. One thing's for sure, their morale will be lowered, no doubts about that. Maybe a -1 defense is also in order, so that their def score will be more in line with their armour rating of 4, and will reduce their ability to withstand lots of punishing (as a mrl of 9 and def of 5 can prove quite a pesky unit on hold at times). Also, if you're referring to Svean Axemen, they are a faction specific unit, Danes are already powerful in all aspects, the Sword Brethren Cavalry makes 'em strong in a field where historically Scandinavian factions suffered.

[Scurvy]

i dont give a @£&%! about historical accuracy :joker:

[L'Impresario]

Well don't worry, historical accuracy doesn't give a "atpoundandpercentexclamationmark" for you as well;)

[Scurvy]

well atpoundandpercentexclamationmark you! :wall: :juggle2:

[L'Impresario]

And here's some info regarding some weird CTDs that occurred during the loading screen for no apparent reason:
About 7 units (Voi,DanishNobles,MazovianSpearmen, RussianHalberdiers,PestMilitia,NeapolitanInfantry,CatalonianFootKnights) who use 2 specific "body types" can cause a CTD when they are picked and their faction colour is among the new faction ones, apart from their own (eg. Novgorod Militia can use the novgorod faction colours without problems). So until this issue is taken care of, it's advisable that you avoid taking a different new faction colour when playing with the Polish,the Novgorodians, the Russians/Kievans, the Hungarians, the Sicilians, the Aragonese and the Papacy, at least if you intend on using the above-mentioned units.

[buujin]

Hello All !.

Im back from holiday now, hope you all had a happy new year. :balloon2:

Me and Alex will be starting work on a small a patch for the next version of Dux. All feedback has been taken on board and will be descussed in detail before we proceed. Thanks eccpecially to MaxTheLeveller for his detailed suggestions. :2thumbsup:

The patch will be completed by next weekend at the latest. Untill then we will be in the final stages of playing and testing the current version and hope some of you can join me if you're not too busy.


Ill be online today from about 7GMT onwards. See you then !

Thanks All!

Buu

[Scurvy]

glad you had a happy holiday, and look forweard to patch ^^

[_mas_]

Thanks eccpecially to MaxTheLeveller for his detailed suggestions.
ehhmmmm......Lol mine suggestion....... Max only greet all and translate my post:laugh4:

About Skytikon:

Its true Skytikon its a generic terms .....
but the Latinikon not allowed for Byza




About Western European light infantry support:

We can create (see my suggestion) hybrid light infantry support with decent attack but poor
defence (gascon bidower for example) can be USABLE infantry....(300-400 florins max)
Same way for javelin men can be upgraded in attack and armed with small axe and jav....


MTLIULEBI was a medium infantry(60)too, armed with sword

For Egyptian can you add KURDISH JAVELINMEN light infantry ,jav and axe

Sorry for my Zulu's English

Mas

[L'Impresario]

Well, Latinikon is the Latin Knights unit as I mentioned before...the Byz should have them, according to the Unit_Prod file.
Western Factions do have hybrids, such as Gascon Crossbowmen, Longbowmen, Order Foot Crossbows, Scandinavian Mercenaries, etc, but they can't be made very good in hand to hand combat. 300-400 florins is the price of most archers who have 2-3 combat points, like Thuringian archers, Bulgarian Brigands, Dejma. They can be used effectively for flanking but don't pit em vs strong units. That's the idea with Javellins as well. They shouldn't be able to fight, unless they are multi purpose units like Vlach Auxillaries, Nubian Javelinmen etc.
I'll be back with more later;)

[Scurvy]

I think we should have a unit of pirates :P also im finding archers great in combat compared to vi....

[_mas_]

Hungarian arc-cav shield Szekely

http://lovasijasz.kayzee.sk/images/pajzs4.jpg

~:thumb: ~:thumb:

[Scurvy]

:2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup:

[L'Impresario]

Yes, I know the site this pic's taken from heh
Those crazy hungarians, so many horse archery sites ;)

Regarding archers, they appear to be stronger indeed, due to somewhat higher morale and less cavalry charging them around. But the vanilla archers do have a -1 to defense vs cav, although the fact that they are usually less tired by the point they enter battle is a decisive factor. But I guess you are referring mostly to crossbows, which need a little softening before a charge. In 3v3s and 4v4s they are in more precarious situations tho, and rout accordingly.

[Scurvy]

well actually i wasnt, i never use xbows :laugh4:

i meant that scandinavian archers and others (those djema things) all seem much better than before, to the extent i feel i gain more from 4 scandinavian mercs than 2 xbows and 2 other units....

[L'Impresario]

Scandinavian mercs, dejma and such units are on the "elite" end of archers, more like hybrids (scand mecs mostly). They do cost more than normal archers and xbows leaving other parts of your army weaker, plus if you don't want them to die when faced with a pav or a disposable archer unit, you 'll prolly have to rush heh

[Scurvy]

or cav the buggers :P

[buujin]

Sorry mas, i thought it was Max's words you were posting. Thankyou for your input m8.

I think there is more people playing Dux mod now in the evening than playing regular VI :dizzy2: :2thumbsup:

I'll let you all know when a patch is released, it will be a very small one i expect just to correct a few errors and maybe add a few more new units ;)

See you all later

[Scurvy]

yeah, a very good game yesterday evening (shame i lost ~:) ) but im nout sure about more than regular vi players? :P maybe one day :D

[SaintBlackAdder]

On more players in DUX than in VI, it happens from time to time, like few days back we had 4v4 battle in DUX when all in all there were only 15 players in lobby :dizzy2: (and i bet most of them were in MTW).
Think that future looks bright for DUX:2thumbsup:

[_mas_]

:idea2:

https://img212.imageshack.us/img212/6140/scudi9no.th.jpg (https://img212.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scudi9no.jpg)

If you want replace shield,this is a JPEG 256 col. 8 bit need to convert to bmp ...

1-Hospitallier
2- "
3- "
4- Genoese Crossbowmen
5- English Foot Knights
6-Teutonic Order
7-Teutonic Foot Knights
8-Usable for Russian/Byzantine


https://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5559/000000079pg.th.jpg (https://img217.imageshack.us/my.php?image=000000079pg.jpg)

Only a test on Druzhina, itsnt nice but need correctly scale it.......

Greetings

Mas

[Scurvy]

i like the english one :p

[SaintBlackAdder]

Hmmm :idea2: the last one could be used for Druzhina inf cause right now they take the prize for the most ugly shield in DUX :laugh4:

[Scurvy]

hmm its close competition, have you seen the catalonion guard shileds?

[buujin]

A very big thankyou to Tosa Inu for creating the following hotlinks to the Mod download an to this thread.

Anyone who wishes to download or learn more about this mod, please direct them to the following:

http:\\mizus.com\dux - for direct download
http:\\mizus.com\infodux - to a direct link to this topic


Cheers ! :2thumbsup:

[L'Impresario]

:idea2:

https://img212.imageshack.us/img212/6140/scudi9no.th.jpg (https://img212.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scudi9no.jpg)

If you want replace shield,this is a JPEG 256 col. 8 bit need to convert to bmp ...

1-Hospitallier
2- "
3- "
4- Genoese Crossbowmen
5- English Foot Knights
6-Teutonic Order
7-Teutonic Foot Knights
8-Usable for Russian/Byzantine


https://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5559/000000079pg.th.jpg (https://img217.imageshack.us/my.php?image=000000079pg.jpg)

Only a test on Druzhina, itsnt nice but need correctly scale it.......

Greetings

Mas


Nice shields, it'd be nice to use 'em, but I think the last one is a bit over the line heh
It's like a whole unit of druzhina looted an hagiography workshop ;)
BTW, there are indeed some shields who need scaling.

[Scurvy]

hagiography? stop using word i dont understand :book: :dizzy2:

I think the inf with those shields look quite good :)

[Scurvy]

hmm i wont be on dux for amybe a week or so as i'v installed the xl mod so i can play single player campaign (which i have never tried before)

[L'Impresario]

When you come back the patch will probably be available, even though I think that mods that don't require a new install work fine with DUX, but I haven't tried this out yet.

[TosaInu]

Just finished uploading the musicmod for dux to one of the mirrors: http://mizus.com/duxmusic

[L'Impresario]

Just finished uploading the musicmod for dux to one of the mirrors: http://mizus.com/duxmusic

This is great, Tosa:bow:
We 're quite indebted to you now~:)

The pack is 93 mb, and it's easy to install. Thanks go to Silent-Faust for compiling this collection.

[Faust|]

Thanks, TosaInu, for uploading the music pack, its much appreciated.

About the Music Pack: Players who like the vanilla mtw music are sure to like the music pack, but others may want to consider that this pack was compiled by someone who preferred in the first place to play the game muted. The music used is classical (actually romantic and modern) and folk, and the compilation might even be, if it is possible, in the same spirit as the mod itself.

**NOTE: IF YOU DOWNLOADED THE MUSIC PACK BEFORE 1/27/06, then the file named VIKING MOBILZE 1 you will have to rename VIKING MOBILIZE 1. As you can see, there is an "I" missing in the original file name. The file must be renamed in this manner in order for it to be played.**

If you have any questions about installing or what music was used you can e-mail me at: jmenonf@hotmail.com. And I'd like to congratulate Alex and Buu on both the mod and its success :2thumbsup: , though I must say I think I'm still in VI barbarian mode.

I'd also like to add, after having played the mod in its different incarnations for at least 2 months or so, that it provides a great mtw experience by offering so many different VIABLE army configurations.

[buujin]

Hello my lovely Dux'ers !

Thanks to all who turned up to play these past few days. Last night we had by far the most people i've seen play the mod in one evening which is brilliant.

A small update regarding the next version:

I know I explained to you that the new patch would arive last week! :sweatdrop: . I am sorry that didnt happen and that things are taking a bit longer than expected. PhoenixMas has agreed to help us create some graphics for a few more new units we would like to add the mod :) So hopefully the extra wait will be worthwhile :2thumbsup:

See you all !

BuuKenshin

[Weebeast]

I'm kinda tempted to download Dux but I feel like not 'mastered' enough on regular mp gaming so I have to wait a while. I'll grab the music now though lol.

[SaintBlackAdder]

Hi Weebeast in all the time i have been playing VI i have noticed that that the main problem of new players is getting working army, now in DUX (which is meant to be played without any upgrades ) is esier to get one. :2thumbsup:

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Thanks to all who turned up to play these past few days. Last night we had by far the most people i've seen play the mod in one evening which is brilliant.


Seems those of us in the US are not getting with the program. Its hard to find a regular vi game here at night and never have I seen a dux game then.

[L'Impresario]

Seems those of us in the US are not getting with the program. Its hard to find a regular vi game here at night and never have I seen a dux game then.

Well, I don't know what times you get on lately, but these days we get 3v3s and 4v4s either around 19-20 or about 22-24 GTM. Maybe we could make up a small list with playing times, dunno really hmm

[SaintBlackAdder]

We could also do it via MSN which we are more or less doing anyway.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Again after 8pm here your lucky to find a game of VI nevermind Dux. Has VI died in the US?

[SaintBlackAdder]

Yep i think that is the case here, heh i guess there is a thing why it sucks to live in US :laugh4: .

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Well Ive been checking in and out now for the last 2 hours. Only got in 2 1 on 1 s with a neophite. Not a soul on VI but 24 playing MTW. That doesnt say much for american taste in TW games. I cant for the life of me figure out why more like the game with the bugs and less units and eras. Its now 10:20 pm

[Kalle]

Hi Gawain!

The time to be online is about 18.00 gmt - 24.00 gmt, sometimes later depending on the tiredness of people. Should be no problem to get either a vi or a dux game. I.E. exactly as Alex?? says.

Remember when you practised with Furi and I think it was Saint Cain a few days ago, that is the time to be online :2thumbsup:

Kalle

[Gawain of Orkeny]

The time to be online is about 18.00 gmt - 24.00 gmt,

I never could figure that out. Whats that in real time? EST.


Remember when you practised with Furi and I think it was Saint Cain a few days ago, that is the time to be onli

I think that was on a weekend. Im telling you no one plays VI other than some hunters after 8pm anymore. Its sux not dux thats played.

[Geezer57]

I never could figure that out. Whats that in real time? EST.
There are lots of time converters on the web - here's one:
http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/usa/new-york/index.htm

Eastern Standard Time is five hours behind GMT.

[L'Impresario]

And in order to compensate for the patch delay, here's a small preview of some new units,weapons and shields that Phoinix_Mas is preparing for the next version.

https://img220.imageshack.us/img220/4661/custom8hf16am.png (https://imageshack.us)

https://img95.imageshack.us/img95/8529/custom9hf15yn.png (https://imageshack.us)

Here's the logo as well, in case you missed it;)

https://img398.imageshack.us/img398/2797/duxlogo8lb.jpg

[Scurvy]

groovy :dizzy2:

[t1master]

i finally got the mod, and had a few games in it over the weekend.

excellent work, and a good overall feel as far as rpc. everyone should play this mod!!!

i like the cost effectiveness of the scottish lowlanders unit, i always appreciated low cost units. ~:thumb:

when you say no upgrades necessary, do you mean they're banned or because it throws the balance off? the one game i played with scottland, i upgraded the highlanders, cause they were dirt cheap and i still had a lot of money left over after selecting my army, again scotts seem really cost effective.

a few strange things i've noticed about the mod when swapping stats... i've had the gamestat converge on my game when switched back to plain old vi... i don't know if it was me or someone else, but it was well into the battle when i was dropped, usually it boots you right away. also in a quick battle in sp, again in plain old vi, some of the cmaa were loaded as 100 man units of pikes...

so...

i'm gonna re-install a copy of plain old vi so i don't have to swap between the two. it seems quicker just to reboot the entire game than switch the mod with the swapper, and hopefully eliminate any gamestat errors

[L'Impresario]

Glad you're liking it Goat:)
You happened to choose the faction with the most limited selection of troops, thus it makes people go for some upgrades. I think we'll work on the Scots a bit more, so you can use all your money , even without buying 1 RK and 4 FK. But historically they relied on those long spears and lowland bands, so the whole thing needs to be given some further thought.
About upgrades in general, they can cause indeed ruin the balance. Javs,archers and most missile foot units can get upgrades for less money , and ,as we have already a small range of stats, they can get v1 for less than 100 florins and get +1 at & def, +2 mrl,therefore making mid cost units not worth it.OTOH high cost units will be challenged, because they cant get any upgrade for a reasonable florin amount.

So to make it short, valour, weapon and armour upgrades are not allowed, because they can create many balance problems and start making the game a math contest.

A few notes when using the modswitcher...
Always quit VI and wait till the swapping is over, no matter how long it takes (usually its 90-140 secs). If this isn't done, some unit graphics will be messed up, as the folders with the original graphics and models won't be copied back and activated for normal play.
A real issue does exist tho, that of getting dropped immediately after the game starts. We have identified the problem and it can be easily circumvented, we haven't had a drop due to this since many weeks now.
I'll just say that when you take one of the new factions, make sure you don't change your colours, except if you choose a colour of the original factions.
Ex. If you choose Georgians, then you should keep your own colour, or change to one of the original faction ones', like Almohads,Byzantines, HRE, English, French etc. DO NOT select a new colour, like that of the Crusader States, the Ilkhanate, the Venetians etc.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Is it possible to put a link just to the mod swapper as I cant find mine. Also is there a way to put on your desk top like the Samurai mods?

[L'Impresario]

If you want to get the program, then you can dl it from TW Center:
http://www.twcenter.net/downloads/db/?mod=687
If you just want to know its location, then see this (also refers to shortcut creation, if I understood correctly what you wanted):
https://img62.imageshack.us/img62/3523/modswitchershortcut2ip.th.jpg (https://img62.imageshack.us/my.php?image=modswitchershortcut2ip.jpg)

[buujin]

Its long overdue, but its finally arrived. The new version of Dux ( 0,4 ) is complete and ready for public download yay :balloon2: :balloon2:.

TosaInu has again generously uploaded the mod directly the mizus clan server and you can get the new version on this link:


http://mizus.com/dux

Make sure to view the readme file!

New features in this version include a huge amount of new graphics compiled by the talented and very persistent PheonixMas :2thumbsup:.
Various tweaks to the stats to ensure that no one army combination can regularly dominate the field as is the case in VI2.01. There is also a fine selection of new units for you to use including 2 great new units for the (until-recently) underpowered scottish faction.

A big big thankyou to Mas for all his hard work, he is also in the process of constructing the official Dux web site ! where we can keep amongst other things, various hints and tip including a full list of stats for all the units in the mod. It is also somewhere we can organise, and keep all players informed of the upcoming 3v3 dux tournament we are planning for the next few months.


http://dux.atspace.com/index.html



Have fun !
Hope to see all of you online soon

[VDM]BuuKenshin

[L'Impresario]

Currently you can download the unit list from site, but not all units have been added. Don't forget to open the downloaded file with MSWORD, as the extension (.doc), apparently, has been deleted from the current file name.

When I get more time in my hands, I'll also try to upload some in-battle screenshots (maybe add them to the site).

[_mas_]

For dont Forget....

Thank to Duke John for your unit graphics(all new unit graphics come from "Duke John Unit graphics pack",he is 3d modeller)and for your support.

Ok i hope you understand my zulu english...:balloon2:

[axel]

hi mate dose this mod allreddy exsict or is it comming out soon ???

[axel]

:2thumbsup: and are there somme screenshots of it and where cane i download it

[_mas_]

http://mizus.com/dux
Dux its already out you can download...or on site too i have change url ,now in mizus server
Axel the site is under construction,actually you can dowload only Units stas doc,Mappack vol 1-3 and Dux 0.4.

[axel]

thx for replying mate may i ask is it a self destract mod or most i put it my self in my MTW files??? and how big is the mod ?:2thumbsup:

[buujin]

Axel the mod is complete and comes with a self installer yes.

In order to play it you will need first a fresh install of MTW-VI version 2.01.

To download the mod paste this url into your web browser http:\\mizus.com\dux

Make sure to read the README file before u install it.

[axel]

ok thx mate for your reply ~;)

[axel]

one question is this a campain mod or a multyplay mod??

[L'Impresario]

Heh, as the title of this thread and the fact that it's located in the relevant forum reveals, it's a MultiPlayer mod (although you can play custom battles as well). But you can still play the normal VI campaign, as the mod comes with a modswitcher.

[Hunter KIng George]

Great News Guys! I will certainly download it right away....Thx to all of you for your hard work in creating this mod for all of us to enjoy! Cheers! :2thumbsup:

[Scurvy]

I wont be on for a while, but will try to nevertheless (is that one word?) :book:

[buujin]

Scurvy !!!!!!!

Come back your missing out on all the fun !!!

[_mas_]

:balloon2: :balloon2:

[L'Impresario]

Long time Mas;)
We might now be able to update the site and add some info on the upcoming tourney.

[_mas_]

play dux, play dux guys :wall:

[Puzz3D]

I'd like to see the name changed to DUUX. ~:)

[L'Impresario]

What are you implying Yuuki ~;)

[buujin]

I suggest we called it BUUX.

No... infact I Demand it.

[buujin]

poop !

[_mas_]

Bubba are you alive?:whip:

[_mas_]

Need a new link for dux 0.4....
the old doesn't work:help:

[TosaInu]

Hello _mas_,

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?linkid=770

[_mas_]

ehhmmm.. not work... it is only mizus main page.
Unfortunately i have not saved a copy...i hope that is not lost
ok now work! better copy and paste