Amazon: Total War

[parthian shot]

This is to let everyone know that the Beta 1.02 release

for Amazon:Total War - Reignited is out.



=========
Adult Warning
=========
Caution: This mod contains female nudity depicted in ancient combat. If you are precluded by the law to view such content (under the age of 18 in most areas, for example), please refrain from accessing the mod.


Rather than posting the link everywhere, here is the thread to access the download,

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=477129

or you can search for Amazon Total War Reignited Beta in TWCenter.

Attached below is the Read-Me file which is part of the download zip.

===============================================================
Amazon Total War - Reignited
Version 1.01 Beta
For Barbarian Invasion 1.6 or later
Latest bug fix:
- reported by Spartan198 with a crash entering the strat screen because the model file has reference to amazon cas file over at the BI/data folder
- reported by chrisb for erroneous installation links in this document
- script now functions for all three intended factions with no warning side-effects.

:::::::::::::::::::: MAJOR CHANGES ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The new Amazon Total War - Reignited is a mod based on Subrosa Florens as well as Ares7667's Amazon Total War Mod.
Key Differences are (Please read throught the entire description before installation)

- This mod contains female nudity, if the law of your location prohibits you as an individual from viewing such content for whatever reasons (being under age of 18 in most areas, for example), please refraining from installing or playing this mod.
By installing this mod, the user acknowledges that he (or she) alone is legally responsible for the use and the consequences of its use.
- The Reignited mod is less fantasy based, most Amazon factions and locations are based more on archeology and data extrapolated from current anthropological theories.
- This mod attemps at establishing a relationship between the animation-skin (the textures) of the units with the specific unit's cost. The unit cost is much more in line with the equipment and training of the combat units. Wherever possible, there is explanation to list the equipment+training to show their relationship with cost.
- To bring recruitment in line with the community infrastructure, many of the units have been re-skinned, and the light units are either using animal pelts as clothing, or their clothing reduced to reflect cost and time required to recruit such units.
- Use of iron implements are reduced, and most units are bronze alloy armored. Units using iron have both high maintenance cost as well as high procurement cost.
This reflects the fact that iron object rust away very easily and must be constantly maintained. It also requires different furnace technology to produce which is more hazardous than bronze alloy.
Bronze alloy (Beryllium Copper, for example) can achieve 90% of the hardness of the best moden steel, at fraction of the cost at manufacturing.
- Chain mail armors used to be depicted in previous RTW mods as cheap alternative to plate mail armor. Well, it is far from being true. Chain mail is both exhorbitantly expensive to produce and highly effective.
Therefore, use of Chain mail in this mod has been greatly curtailed, and it is mostly used as limb armor, unless the factions are Romans, Carthage, or Armenia.
- Use of other missile weapons have been deployed.
- Game has been kept more interesting as each Amazon faction has their own perils to overcome.
- Egypt is portrayed as Ptolemaic, not as ancient Egyptian as in the original RTW game. The officers and some units are Greeks, mixed with local Egyptian levy units.
The cards for generals as well as diplomat remained Egytian, as it is customary for the Ptolemaic rulers to retain dual cultural identities.

:::::::::::::::::::: Credit and Acknowledgement ::::::::::::::::::::

- There is no chance of this mod being created without the brilliant works of both Subrosa and Ares7667
I wish to thank both of them for their kind permission to allow me to use their Amazon TW as the foundation for Amazon TW - Reignited

- Similarly without the great folks at Heavengames forum, both Terikel Grayhair and Edorix, there is not a chance this mod would be published.

- Special Thanks KLA for his kind permission to use his Amazon models, even though his terrific work was not able to be used in the current mod because we are out of modeling slots.

- Special Thanks Quaztalcoatl to allow my partner and me to use his Amazon .cas files for the re-skinned Amazon units used in the Re-ignited mod.

- Special Thanks to Trajan to allow me to use his .cas files from AR_S_Late_Roman_Army_Mod_V_3.0

- Special Thanks to OC Grenadier to allow me the use of the Amazon Axe cas file for re-skinned Amazon units.

- The Thracian Peltast is a re-skinned animation from Andronicus

- The Caro-Ballistae soldier and non-elite unit standard bearers are re-skinned from FATW.

I intended to acknowledge all the artistic work from all the artists whose works are included in the mod.
And I apologize beforehand, that if by accident, there is an omission of credit of any kind, please send PM to me at your earliest convenience and I will gladly include the mentioning of your work in the future release notes.

The following are acknowledgement from Subrosa to the contributors from Amazon TW release 3.0c, still very much applicable to the current mod.
"...Special thanks to Palantir/Dol Gulder/Master of None for donating the Bean Sidhe faction symbol and several shield textures from Viking Invasion 2.
Special thanks to Andalus for his Thracian Heavy Spearman skin.
Special thanks to luke_liddle for the horse texture on the Armenian Legionary shield.
Special thanks to Punic Total War for their Carthaginian General, Devotio, Macedon Standard Bearer skins, and Iberian Scutarii shield texture.
Special thanks to Riczu for use of his strat map ships.
Special thanks to neo_deus for the Numidian Legionary shield.
Special thanks to Pinarius for use of his horse mod.
Special thanks to Medusa0 for the Seleucid, Armenian, and Numidian Legionary reskins.
Special thanks to Halie Satanus for donating the use of many shield and armour textures.
Special thanks to Signifer One for allowing me to use his Animations pack.
Special thanks to Darth Divus for providing the loading screen overlays...
Special thanks to Private Clark for his work on the New Amazonia Faction skins and donating his figure 8 shield for the Valkyrja Drakones and Bean Sidhe Spear Warband...."

::::::::::::::::::::The Basics::::::::::::::::::::

Amazon Total War is a conversion for Rome Total war version 1.5 or Barbarian Invasion version 1.6. It uses the mod:switch option, so it will not interfere with any of your original game files. Be sure you apply it to a clean install of RTW, as you may experience ctd's when entering battles if not.


::::::::::::::::::::Overview::::::::::::::::::::

ATW - Reignited re-structured the four Amazon factions in the game:

Amazonia, still remains as Amazonia
Valkyrja, renamed Thyssa Amazons
the Bean Sidhe, renamed Geothe Amazons
the Gorgons. renamed Libyan Amazons

"...The Amazon Federations, who for milleniums have been safeguarding the Caucasus Gates and the Asia Minor to potect the Europa Ecumene from beeing destroyed by barbarians, had finally collapsed, thanks in no small measure to the Dorian intrigue. Centuries later, a minority still uphold their secret code and teaching. Others have fell into decadence and formed into their own petty fiefdom in the Northern Plains, where they call themselves the Thyssagetae. Still, others have settled in Themiskyra and gave the Dorian Greeks some paybacks from time to time. The nimble ones trekked back to Libya, a place centuries later is known to the Romans as Africa...."

These still belong to a new culture, that of the Amazons, with new units, generals, entourage, etc.
All diplomats, assassins, and spies are now females with correct strat animation.
In general, the current mod makes them less Greek and more Phrygian or Central-Asians/Asia-Minor of their time, which means, by definition, they are more blonde, or red haired, with light color eyes.
For they are the progenitors of many modern European people. This is the time when the Goths, the Alans, the Sarmatians have not migrated to Europe yet.

The Amazon frontier units are available to the most of their neighboring factions.
Celts,
Gaul - Finnic Amazon Archers, both mounted and dismounted.

Macedon - Geothe mounted and dismounted brigandine archers

German
Thrace,
Armenia,
Parthia - Thyssa Amazon Frontier Horse Archers

Thrace,
Seleucid- Mounted Amazon Heavy Cavalry

With very few exceptions, most Amazonian elites units are equestrian.
Here are the categories of units in the Amazon ranks:

Halberd units - both mounted and dismounted.
militia warband
militia hoplite - female instead of male long shield warband
skirmisher - armed with long javelins
peltasts - armed with javelins, swords, and wicker pelta shield.
foot archers - armed with sword, composite bow or mano-ballista, some with shield.
horse archers - same as foot archers, except mounted on horseback with extreme weight limitations.
brigandine - same as foot/horse archers, with brigandine armors and if mounted, with medium horses
elite archers - mounted chosen archers with either medium horses or race horses, armed with double bow.
caro-ballista - carriage mounted mobile artillery unit
heavy cavalry - heavily armored Amazon cavalry armed with integrated shield and mano-ballista.
noble maiden - fully lamellar armor suit on special bred race horses with long sword and double-bow.
noble maiden cataphract - head to toe lamellar armored on cataphract horses
Amazon chariot - long range archers on two horse chariots.
elephant Troop - Amazon Elephantine unit
armored Elephant- Amazon Armored Elephantine unit
guards - these are foot/mounted/chariot guard units for the priestesses, as well as mounted guards for the generals.

Some mounted units are trained, as in medieval Hungarian or Romanian ways, to make the horses lying down on the battlefield, and so they can remain hidden even if there is no foliage.

Type of missile launching platform:
large composite bow
double giant composite bow
giant composite bow
composite bow - Only available from factions bordering the open steppe or forest steppe.
double bow - double cocked, double limbs bow with two bow strings to shoot a missile to longer range, also allows a petite warrior to shoot at long distance
mano-ballista - precursor of man-portable crossbow, with the difference of a torsion spring instead of a limb-spring. With some game engine animation limitation, it was supposed to be cocked with the rider resting her 'bow' on her the sole of one of her shoes and with the hand(s) pull the string to be cocked and ready to shoot.
caro-ballista - these are a larger version of the same ballista weapon mounted on the carriage.
Greek Ballista - stationary or low mobility version of siege weapon
Roman Scopion - more nimble version of Greek Ballista, unchanged from RTW game
onager - siege weapon, more platforms per units, available to all factions if their cultural development become matured.
super Onager - heavy siege weapon

Type of missiles:
pilum - heavy thrown spear to disable an opponent
javelin - thrown short spears used by units such as the peltasts.
long javelin - long spear used by Amazon skirmishers.
arrow - number can be carried by a soldier is more limited in this mod, unless the faction is rich in tmber and has lath technology.
iron cased lead - iron casing filled with molten lead, used by faction with less wood and lathing technology to make straight arrow shaft.
sacred fire missile- can be used either as an ancient version of grenade, or shoot off a mano-ballista, or double-bow, like a rifle grenade launcher.

As it is from the previous Amazon TW Mod, the original game map has been modified by the inclusion of 34 new territories.
Most of them are located in North Africa, the Steppe, and the mountains of Armenia.
As in Amazon TW 3.0c, Scythia has been moved to its more historically accurate starting position in the Crimea and lower Ukraine.
Scythia has also undergone some change in its unit roster, now having many more infantry units of better quality than before.
This reflects the effects of their having become partially sedentary at the time the game begins.
Every Barbarian faction now has a 4th tier of development. All factions now have a Law temple.
There are many new units, including Onagers for all Barbarians. Maiden Axes have been added to Britannia and Gaul from ATW 3.0c release.
Chosen Slingers added to Britannia, Carthage, and Iberia.
Gaul and Germania have regular Archer Warbands.
Mercenary Cretan Archers and Rhodian Slingers are now recruitable by the Hellenic factions from their home islands.
Scutarii are now recruitable by Carthage.
Elephants and Noble Cavalry have been added to Numidia, Noble Cavalry to Iberian, and Heavy Cavalry have been added to the Greek Cities.
Thrace has had a dramatic make-over as well, gaining new units such as Thracian Peltasts, Thracian Infantry, and Thracian Nobles, new temples such as to Sabazios and Kotys, and more.
All Amazon factions can now get Elephant troops, as can the Sarmatians, this only happens when their culture is almost fully developed.

::::::::::::::::::::Take Note!::::::::::::::::::::

Voice and Speech:
=================

As in previous Amazon TW mod, the pre-battle speeches of the Amazons have been disabled.

Four Season Turns:
==================
The game uses Maadral's Multi-Season script. But it has been integrated to the game script. So if you have been using his multi-season script, you can not re-generate the season script on this mod, doing so will cause fatal error in the mod.

::::::::::::::::::::Installation Instructions::::::::::::::::::::

You must have a previously installed version of Rome Total War Barbarian Invasion in its vanilla form.
If you have not own a Rome Total War game software before, you can purchase online from sources like Steam under Rome Total War Gold.
Unzip the file you download to your base Rome Total War folder (i.e. the one with RomeTW.exe in it). When you are done you should see the folder "Amazon TW-Reignited" alongside your data, logs, Miles, preferences, saves, and other folders. Like so:

RTW
:-AmazonTW-Reignited
:-BI
:-custom
:-data
:-logs
:-Miles
:-preferences

:::::::::::: For Non-Steam Users :::::::::::::::::::::::

Now create a new shortcut for Amazon TW-Reignited.
Open Windows Explorer, then go to your base Rome Total War folder, find the RomeTW-BI.exe file, and right click on it.
An options box will pop up.
Move your mouse down to "Send To". Another box will pop up along side the first one.
Move your mouse over to "Desktop (Create Shortcut)", and click on it with your left mouse button.
Now go to your Desktop and you will see the new shortcut there, named "Shortcut to RomeTW.exe"
Right-click on the new shortcut, and a box will pop up.
Click on Properties in this box.
A new window will open up, with three tabs across the top. If the Shortcut tab was not already selected, click on it.
Click in very right end of the box named Target.
Now add in a space and then the following text: -mod:AmazonTW-Reignited -show_err
So your Target box should look something like: "C:\Program Files\Rome Total War\RomeTW.exe" -mod:AmazonTW-Reignited -show_err
Now click on Apply.
To rename it something more descriptive click on the General tab.
There will be a field at the very top of the window. Type in: Amazon Total War Reignited.
Now click on "Ok". You are done.
Optional: This mod also has some several desktop shortcuts from Subrosa which you may wish to use. While you still have the Shortcut Properties window open, click on the Shortcut tab, then click on the Change Icon button at the bottom of that window. A Change Icon window will appear. Click on the browse button to navigate to your RTW\amazon folder. You will find several.ico files there. Select the one you would like by double-clicking on it. Then back at the Change Icon window click on Ok. Then finally click on OK again to close the Shortcut Properties window.

::::::::::::::: For Steam User :::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Creating the shortcut has described above. Now edit the target box of the shortcut has follows:
"C:\Program Files\Steam\Steam.exe" -applaunch 4760 -mod:AmazonTW-Reignited -show_err -nm