Problem with Roman Highways as Epeiros

I'm having a great Epeiros campaign but there's this thing with SPQR; I'm patiently waiting for them to go Polybians and now, they've built highways in Roma, Capua and Arretium.
Good for them, but an eyesore for me and my "uniformitiness".

So, I wish either to,
1/ get rid of those highways
2/ make them build highways in the rest of their homeland
3/ be able to build them myself

I can't reload to a previous date; Epeiros_03 is my current saved game (247 BC), the one before is at 260 BC.
I tried to process_cq every turn in the hope they build them, no results so far. They have the money (I made sure of it) and the will NOT to build them (I'm sure of it).
I could edit the EDB to let me build them, but it'll feel like cheating, I know I'd link Massalia to Byzantion and beyond. I'd feel bad about it but I'd still do it.
I don't think I can remove the "hinterland" from the roads entry and walk away with it.
From what I remember, using a small script with create_building highways will result into both paved roads and highways being present in the settlement.

Is there a way to make sure they build them ?

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So, I wish either to,
1/ get rid of those highways

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Not possible.

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2/ make them build highways in the rest of their homeland

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This will take time, and it is questionable whether they would do it in the first place. There's another way around it, however. You could use the generic script to gain control of the roman faction:

Find the generic script (.../EB/data/scripts/show_me/genericScript) and open it. It goes like this:

Code:

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script
    console_command toggle_perfect_spy
end_script

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Add the following line: console_command control seleucid in here:

Code:

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script
    console_command toggle_perfect_spy
    console_command control seleucid
end_script

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Now start the game.

1) Reload your Epirote game
2) Press F1 and click the "question mark" button.
3) Click the "show me how" button"
4) You now control the Romans! Yay!

5) Build highways wherever you like, use the process_cq cheat if you feel especially doubtful of the AI's incompetence (which wouldn't surprise me)
6) Save and exit
7) Reload the generic script and change the lines to:

Code:

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script
    console_command toggle_perfect_spy
    console_command control thrace
end_script

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Restart EB, same steps as before. When you have pressed the "show me how" button again, the turn will end and you will be in control of your loved ones again. Feel free to crush the Romans at will.

However, there is one potential drawback to this all. Apparently, this is a true story. When I was a young boy, I heard dark rumours about the foulest side-effects of improperly using the "control" command. When you go into your bathroom in the middle of the and recite "command_console control seleucid" 666 times, you'll be transported back into time, to the spring of 272 BC!!!*

In any case, you should be careful with using that "control" command. I've heard people say that whenever you revert back to your old faction, the faction you controlled wouldn't be working properly anymore (not that the AI was working properly to begin with, but eh..). I've used this command to change some stuff in the Ptolemaioi empire when playing as Seleukeia, and I haven't experienced any problems at all. But you know, it might be true, I don't know.

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3/ be able to build them myself

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This is very much possible. You need to edit two files for this:

.../EB/data/export_descr_buildings.txt
.../EB/data/text/export_buildings.txt

Optional:

.../EB/data/UI/ROMAN/BUILDINGS/#ROMAN_HIGHWAYS.TGA
.../EB/data/UI/ROMAN/BUILDINGS/#ROMAN_HIGHWAYS_CONSTRUCTED.TGA

In the export_descr_buildings.txt file, look for this line:

Code:

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        highways requires factions { seleucid, } and not  hidden_resource nopavedroads

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This is line 1023 (you could go there by pressing CTRL+G and type 1023 into the bar). When you see the line "requires factions {seleucid, }" you should add "thrace" so it reads "requires factions {seleucid, thrace, } do not forget the second apostrophe and the single space between the last flower bracket; this is vital to getting it to work.

The second file you'd need is the export_buildings.txt file. There is only one thing that is really crucial to do here is to find these lines:

Code:

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{highways}
{highways_desc}
{highways_desc_short}

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You'll find a bunch of lines that go like "WARNING! This text should never appear on screen!". Copy (don't cut!) one of those boxes and change them accordingly:

Code:

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{highways_thrace}
{highways_thrace_desc}
{highways_thrace_short_desc}

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And fill in some interesting text. In cases of extreme laziness, you could just take the ones the Romans have, but their language is not as pretty, I think. Otherwise, you could use the ones I used for my Seleucid campaign:

Code:

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{highways_thrace} Hodos Basilikou (Highways)
{highways_thrace_desc}
Now that our lands stretch far and wide, and our merchants travel all  corners of the known world, we improved the roading system that connect  our major cities. With these roads, our armies are quicker to march from  one part of our Empire to the next, as well as allowing our citizens to  travel safely across our lands.\n\nAs the Seleucid Empire expandeded  and supply lines become longer, there was a need for an advanced road  system. The bed of the road is made with strongly-packed gravel to allow  longer sustainibility, and the roads themselves are 625 centimeters  broad. Along the road there are posting stations every 13 kilometers,  allowing for the rapid advance of news.
{highways_thrace_desc_short}
Looking at the ancient system of the Persikoi who held the land, whose  roads spanned from Sardis to Susa, we were able to re-design these roads  enabling them to fit our purpose.

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The two optional files are just there for the aesthetic value: copy those two files from the folder I specified to this folder:

.../EB/data/UI/Greek/BUILDINGS/

and it should all be fine. Enjoy your game!



* you should ignore what I typed there, I've been watching too many horror films.

That's an awesome post, Hax, and a lifesaving answer.
Great idea to switch factions, I'll use it to help the Rhodian League too.

Here's a balloon :balloon2:

Would allowing other nations to build highways be save-game compatible? I would think making it possible for all 'civilised' civilisations would be a good idea, maybe tie it to the march of time given that you want to delay the introduction of roman technology

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Would allowing other nations to build highways be save-game compatible?

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Yes, it's savegame compatible.

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I would think making it possible for all 'civilised' civilisations would be a good idea, maybe tie it to the march of time given that you want to delay the introduction of roman technology

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I don't know how you tie things like that to the MoT event. Oh well.

I don't think it's possible to tie buildings to the MoT: the team would have done that for Celtic paved roads if they could.

But does the MoT event already tie in new barracks? i mean if they could make a new barracks appear (to enabling training new units) then surely they could do that with the roads? or is roads harder to do because its not destroyable and appears in the map?

I am not sure what you are saying. The upgraded barracks in EB are triggered by the script, not MoT. In vanilla R:TW there are no upgraded barracks: the MoT simply changes the units they can recruit.

I meant that since the MoT reforms allows new barracks for new units, is it possible to add paved roads to that?

By your answer, i believe you meant no. it seems that MoT only allows units and the infrastructure could already be there by that time.

Since the script ties in buildings (barracks etc) with individual reforms (eg the romans), could you do that with an upgraded road? or is reforms through script purely for units?

Actually the MoT reform does not allow for new barracks; it just changes the recruitment options in the old one. EB's scripted reforms do enable a new barracks, but this is done indirectly by placing another "building" (like the "Polybian Military Era" markers) that allows for the construction of the new barracks and disables the old one. Another part of the script replaces the barracks when the Marian reform strikes, but that is not relevant here.

The Epeirotes do not have a scripted reform, so you cannot use this for enabling highways. Also: the team would have done this for the Gauls if they could. Since they didn't, I am guessing you cannot have faction-specific requirements for the construction of buildings. (The team got around this for barracks by creating a separate barracks-line for every military system.)

Ah, makes more sense now (i know nothing about coding but since i have followed this for some time it does tie in with my knowledge)
having highways would be a good reform thing given roman expertise would have spread over time. I know this isnt the EBII forum but does the game allow for it given new coding opportunities available?