Unit Guide

Ok, I'm currently taking volunteers. Post here if you're interested in helping out with faction specific unit guides.

So far, I've volunteered for the Holy Roman Empire.

Doug Thompson has volunteered to write for Egyptians.

Katank has volunteered to write for the Turks.

All other single player campaign playable factions are still open for volunteers. An expert-like understanding of the faction and it's units is recommended, and at least a very good understanding is required. Writing skills are a plus, with an emphasis on descriptive language. :yes:

For references as to what this will look like, it will be very similar to Frogbeastegg's MTW unit guide, only faction specific instead of weapon type specific. The same sort of overview of the unit is the standard format. Screenshots aren't a requirement, but a plus. (If anyone would like to volunteer for pure screenshot purposes, that service would be extremely appreciated).

So, if you have a faction that hasn't been listed that you really love, and you feel that you have a good understanding of said faction, volunteer here. Standing with the community is recommended as well (Doug and Katank are well known members), since it helps to establish credibility.

This project is also restricted to members of the community. Junior members looking for a way to help out the community (and thus earn their spurs) could volunteer for screenshots.


So post your name and the faction you'd like to take, and E-mail me with any updates for your faction at VeryLowSodium89@hotmail.com. There aren't any time constraints, but sometime within the next month or two would be a recommended deadline. I'll compile all of the updates once all of the information has been gathered and submit it for the guides section of MTW2, with credit to all of those who helped.

Thanks for your time,
Paul

I would but I don't think it's fair to evaluate the units at their current level of brokenness in the stock game.

The stats are quite broken in many cases and thus not indicative of actual performance in combat, which makes this all the more valuable IMHO. What you see if not what you get from the unit stat tab.

I have to say, however, the fact that peasants able to rout Italian Spear Militia (equal valor captain stacks in both campaign and custom battle) etc. is fairly ridiculous.

At any rate, I'd be happy to share my experiences with my Turks. (This does happen to coincide with finals perod though). They were my favorite faction in original MTW partly due to a crazy ransoming rush I came up with but also their amazing unit roster.

I've got the finals rush right now too Katank. No worries. I wont expect to hear from anyone who volunteers for a few weeks anyways, since everyone will be testing and playing the game to get the inside scoop on all of the different units and their effectiveness.

Would a Moderator be able to stickie this temperarily until we fill all seventeen slots for different factions?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by katank

They were my favorite faction in original MTW partly due to a crazy ransoming rush I came up with but also their amazing unit roster.

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Haha, I remember reading that (and executing it!) last year. It was such a great strategy, ransoming the Egyptian nobility by surrounding the province.

I hope you guys can write guides as good and creative as those! Good luck!

Just giving this the ol' bump for those who recently signed on.

Most of the positions are still open. In fact, only Katank and Doug have offered their services so far. :no:

A noble effort by the OP, but I have to agree that until the patch is out...and balance issues looked at...maybe a it isnt a great idea!

But fire away...just have a feeling things will change somewhat shortly!

I don't think that a patch will necessarily change the effectiveness of a unit in general. For example, the patch isn't likely to change the fact that zweihanders are excellent infantry, or that Pavise crossbowmen are the best choice for ranged battles as the germans. In a nutshell, I don't think that a patch will completely alter the utility of the units in general.

Similarly, like Katank pointed out, the stats don't always reflect the usefullness of a unit. A review of the unit and it's effectiveness, on the other hand, is most useful for a player that hasn't mastered said faction with said units.

It's not the unit stats that are broken, it's the animations. About an eighth of the units in the game are not fighting properly.

Its at a point where its still at least 1 key unit for every faction is broken or in question, or will need to be re-evulated once the units in question are fixed and work correctly.

Also dont forget the key fix of this patch is the chrage feature. This will really effect the SP gameplay enough to effect any guide. Still it think most people who are intrested can defently start up with the non buggy base units and such or general faction fighting guides and such since the faction guides section of .org is lacking open ended stragities and unit overviews and most people just write step by step opneing guides with no mention of mid to late game army compistion and things like that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PaulTa

Just giving this the ol' bump for those who recently signed on.

Most of the positions are still open. In fact, only Katank and Doug have offered their services so far. :no:

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Same story.

Can you post a link to Frogbeastegg's MTW unit guide so i can have a look at it to see what you want. If its not way way over the top id be intrested in doing the English faction for you with screenshots. And when the unpakers released ill actually look at the files and included the hidden stats aswell.

http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/twug/index.html

It's basically a description of each unit and it's utility in game. Besides being really helpful for just about any level of player aside from an omniscient one, it's also really entertaining to read. A real asset to the community.

I'll help with a faction if there are any left, i don't mind which faction but i guess id like to post a guide on the Byzantines, let me know if i can go ahead and start work.

Katank- Turks

Doug Thompson- Egyptians

Dan.06- Byzantines

PaulTa- Holy Roman Empire

Zulukiller- Screenshots; English


Ok, so we have four of the seventeen spots filled.


@Dan.06- It's less of a guide to how to play as the byzantines, and more of a description of all of the different units. Check Frogbeastegg's unit guide for a reference, except that we'll be doing guides on the units specific to each faction, rather than to weapon type catagories.

Hmm ok seem's reasonable to me aslong as you dont mind waiting for a week or two after the patch is released i'd be happy to do england for you (i need to check out if billmen are fixed and how they work).

p.s. What format do you want the writing & pictures in would .txt & .jpeg do.

Hrm... good question on the pictures. I'm going to have to check with a few of the moderators to see what sort of images are best for the .org.

I have no problem waiting until the patch is out. In fact, I don't expect to start compiling all the information for another month or two. Right now, I'm just trying to get the slots filled so that everyone has a task in mind when playing the game, and thus pays more attention to different units and their utility.

Yea, waiting for the patch seems like a good idea. So what we're looking for is a description of the unit along with its stats etc?

Pretty much Dan. Check Frogbeastegg's guide for inspiration if you're looking for a good format. That's pretty much what Frogbeastegg did.

Is there any way I can get this thread temperarily stickied?

I think we've got too many stickies already. When you produce some output, I think you should post it in the guides section. But at the moment, this thread is just logistics and not of sufficient general interest to warrant a sticky, sorry.

Ok. I guess I'll just have to give her the ol' bump every once in a while to keep it on the top end of the pile.

I can help out with Sicily, but I can't write anything decently until the beginning of February. Exams are a pain, but once those are dealt with, I can do screenshots, unit write-ups and global campaign strategy.

And if Sicily is taken, I'll take a closer look at Denmark.

I would be happy to do sicily, but it would take me a week or two to do it.

i would also be happy to do poland.

I could help. But the only factions I have enough experience with to do anything are the following.

The Russians
The Moors
Spain
Egypt
Milan

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lars573

I could help. But the only factions I have enough experience with to do anything are the following.

The Russians
The Moors
Spain
Egypt
Milan

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Currently all of those are open except for egypt (Doug Thompson has that one), so you have your pick as to which one you'd like to do. If you want to step out of the box and do two, you can pick any two.

It's on a first come first serve basis guys, so make sure to post and grab the one's you want.


I think I should elaborate a bit on what the individual guides will look like.


Faction Name

Unit X

Screenshot

Description (stats, use on the battlefield, use in comparison to other faction units, other comments)


Unit Y

Rinse and repeat



So it's not so much of a faction guide as it is a description of the different units and their utility, especially in comparison to other units (For example, someone doing a write-up for HRE would mention that Pavise Crossbows are germany's first real and only option for a long ranged archer unit, but they are an excellent unit for ranged duels and are also cost effective... so on and so forth).

So Faenaris has volunteered for Sicily.

Lars573 has volunteered for... many factions... might want to be a bit more specific there mate. :laugh4:

Katank- Turks

Doug Thompson- Egyptians

Dan.06- Byzantines

PaulTa- Holy Roman Empire

Zulukiller- Screenshots; English

Faenaris- Sicily

Lars573- ?


Just a reminder, if you have your guide compiled and you wish to submit it for final review and then posting, you can E-mail me at verylowsodium89@hotmail.com. Thanks so far to all of our volunteers, I look forward to seeing the finished products.

Side note- There isn't really an official timeline, but some time within the next few months is preferable. Don't forsake quality for time though, so no rush.:2thumbsup:

bumpity bump bump bump.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PaulTa

bumpity bump bump bump.

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Gah the Pressure!

I'll do Scotland

Katank- Turks

Doug Thompson- Egyptians

Dan.06- Byzantines

PaulTa- Holy Roman Empire

Zulukiller- Screenshots; English

Faenaris- Sicily

Lars573- ?

Reapz- Scotland


Good to see that I could pressure you into selling your soul for a few hours Reapz. Glad to have you on the team.

Spain then the Moors.

Also what about unit crossovers? Like feudal knights, mounted x-bows etc.

I was thinking about that Lars... I think it's better to include them, because armored sarges for the french might be quite a bit more useful than the armored sarges for germany, or (Insert example here).

for example, regular pike militia wouldn't be any good for the french since they have pikemen, but they'd be worth the time and investment for HRE, who don't have another option aside from mercs.

It will be pretty cool to see the different descriptions and uses of the non-faction specific units i.e. Spear Militia etc.

Well I got the text for Spainish reanged units and light cavalry done. I'll sork on some screen shots later. I'm thinking on trying to show the various armour upgrades in my screens. But I may have to switch to the minimal UI.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan.o6

It will be pretty cool to see the different descriptions and uses of the non-faction specific units i.e. Spear Militia etc.

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For some factions, spear militia are great. For those factions which have early access to the next thing better, spear militia wont be as great.

I also look forward to seeing the different inputs.

@Lars- Great progress so far mate. I'm waiting for finals to finish (the 14th) myself before I can get started.

Till I find another job time is all I got. :oops:

Well enjoy time while ya got it. College is a huge time drain.

Luckily I have done most college work so I have the time.

Il do poland mate

Would love to have a go at one, but very busy at work at the moment. Might find some time in a few days or so, so will check back then and if theres any factions nobody wants i will have a go with them.

I'll do venice but i'm not sure how to do screenshots (do you just press print screen?)

Shame about you being ignored KARLTOS... How rude!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bob_the_great

I'll do venice but i'm not sure how to do screenshots (do you just press print screen?)

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yes - and the you will find them in the tgas folder inside the med II folder. i think you wil need a program like irfan viewer to view them - its a free downloand application.

PaulTa do you want to hold of doing this till after the second patch in febuary when the two handed units will get fixed.

I say right the guide then update for the new patches. But this whole project is going to take until (at the earliest) Spring '07 anyhow. Due to Christmas I haven't had a chance to sit down and make screens or write more text yet.

Yea, I'm going to write up for every unit apart from the Varangian Guard which is ofcourse 2H, so i'll only have one unit at the least to write about when the 2nd patch comes out.

Katank- Turks

Doug Thompson- Egyptians

Dan.06- Byzantines

PaulTa- Holy Roman Empire

Zulukiller- Screenshots; English

Faenaris- Sicily

Lars573- ?

Reapz- Scotland

Kartlos- Poland

Bob_The_Great- Venice



"I say write the guide then update for the new patches. But this whole project is going to take until (at the earliest) Spring '07 anyhow. Due to Christmas I haven't had a chance to sit down and make screens or write more text yet."

Lars brings up a good point here. I would think it would be better to start the work now and update as the game updates. Remember guys, no huge time crunch for this, so enjoy your christmas and don't feel an obligation to jump on it right at this moment.

"Shame about you being ignored KARLTOS... How rude!"

I didn't mean to ignore anyone... If anyone has seen the news lately, I'm living in the NW of the United States... recently a huge storm left about 1.5 million of us without power for a few days.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PaulTa

"Shame about you being ignored KARLTOS... How rude!"

I didn't mean to ignore anyone... If anyone has seen the news lately, I'm living in the NW of the United States... recently a huge storm left about 1.5 million of us without power for a few days.

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I wasn't trying to be annoying :sweatdrop: its just that he posted before two other people that got acknowledgment from you and then he posted again so you listened to him.

By the way I still can't find my screenshots after i press print screen in game.

They are in the TGA folder. As TGA files. I dl'ed a TGA reader and now I can use them. However the TGA folder only seems to hold about 00-19 pics.

I will write Russia.

if you have Photoshop it should open them fine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan.o6

if you have Photoshop it should open them fine.

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Well for me photo shop says that they are an 'unsupported file type', any other programmes?

A good TGA reader is Irfanview ( www.irfanview.com ).

Cheers mate!

I'll do Milan, but I will need to play as them for a couple more weeks to get a better idea and understanding of the faction.:book:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Faenaris

A good TGA reader is Irfanview ( www.irfanview.com ).

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i use cropper capture instead, it runs in the back ground, and handles the print screen function. it lets you save things as any format you could want, it also helps with the naming...

http://blogs.geekdojo.net/brian/articles/Cropper.aspx

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bones58

I'll do Milan, but I will need to play as them for a couple more weeks to get a better idea and understanding of the faction.:book:

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Beat me to it, i was about to volunteer to do it....

think i'll go cry

Well why not still do it? If it's better than mine then you'll get picked ahead of me :shakehands:

http://files.filefront.com/the_FAUST.../fileinfo.html

Thats just been posted on totalwar.com it could come in handy (unit stats)

Easiest way to see screenshots is hit print screen button, pause the game, crtl+alt+del to desktop then paste into paint, save it. Click back on the M2TW tab to carry on playing.

Nope. Easiest way is to hit print screen button. Then keep on playing. Then finding the screenshots neatly ordered by date in the \Medieval2\tgas folder :laugh4:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PureFodder

Easiest way to see screenshots is hit print screen button, pause the game, crtl+alt+del to desktop then paste into paint, save it. Click back on the M2TW tab to carry on playing.

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Dont press that it brings up taskmanager just press ALT+TAB to minimise the game.

P.s. printscreen & paint then a bit of editing is the way im doing the screenshot i cant be arsed learning how to use TGA files.

Does anyone know the location of the units stats in the game folder ive used the unpacker and got everything working ive even have every faction now with max money and tinckered with the merc recuitment levels so they appear more othen. I just cant locate were the unit stats information is located.

Descr_units file. Else, just use FAUSTUS's Guide which contains all the stats (looks ok to me, no errors that I can see). A link to that should be in this thread somewhere.

K thanks for i think ive found it.

export_descr_unit.txt

I am interested in doing a unit guide for mercenaries available. Detailing them like the frogbeastegg guide, but including the provinces they are available in. Alongside I would index them by province, so you can see at a glance what might be available in any given territory. What do you think?

Just a bump to see what's happening with this project.

Well, Doug posted his. I'll probably do my Turk guide once I get back to my dorm after winter break (with my M2TW rig). I think most people are enjoying the hiatus from the holidays right now.

Yeah, I just finished installing a new power supply and a 7900GS KO, so I'm still running diagnostic cleanups and such to optimize performance.

In about a day or two I'll be able to sit down and start the write-up.

Err, count me out. I gave up Milan because my whole empire collapsed near enough in 15 turns, so if anyone with a better attitude than mine wants to do the guide it's all yours.

I'll get around to starting my write up soon.

By the looks of it, some poeple might be asked to do more than one since we still have shoes that need to be filled after a month of advertising. Maybe Econ and Sapi want to do one? *nudge nudge*

hi guys keep up the good work i am dying to see the results! ood luck!

Yeah, things should be great.

Just as an update.


Rather than actually e-mailing yours to me, it might be a better idea to post them in the Citadel like Doug-Thompson, and then moderators can move said articles into one big post in the Guides section.

No rush for getting one done, but hopefully soon. I plan on sitting down to do Germany this weekend, and Spain if no one else has done one yet (Lars? Done spain yet? :sweatdrop: )

I wont be able to take screenshots though, as I refuse to hook my gaming computer up to the internet. Absolutely refuse. I would go postal and kill people if I got adware or spyware on my PC. If someone could help me with screenshots for German units (and maybe spanish units... Lars :sweatdrop: ?).

Other than that, feel free to post if you're interested in doing a faction. Milan has recently had an opening! Grab a faction now! Going fast! Supplies limited!