ETW Modification Fun

[Didz]

Having completed my second Dutch Campaign successfully (World Domination is definately more fun to play than the scripted short campaign mode) I thought I'd have a bit of a dabble into modding the game and 'Oh! Boy is there some great stuff out there to enhance our games'

I started off somewhat cautiously as I didn't want to ruin my game. So, the first thing a I downloaded was Mod Manager which allows you to select and deselect mods without having to phaff about in file folders.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=240335

I then went for the Battlefield Smoke Mod, Battlefield Smoke Mod Light, Battlefield Sound Mod and Blood Mod! (update 20.04.2009) after seeing this video I just couldn't resist having a game that really produced the proper battlefield effects of gunpowder weapons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZMj...layer_embedded

This mod has really enhanced my experience of the battlefield. In some battles I've even managed to lose units in the smoke it gets so thick, and the visuals are amazing.

The second mod I went for was the Fife and Drum mod, which as you might expect allows your line infantry to play fife and drum music as they advance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9qyZDrx1ww

This is largely a matter of taste and I shopped around a bit until I found a selection of tunes that satisfied me. Some of the music mods feature full regimental bands which in my opinion sounds a bit weird given the lack of musician's in the regiments and the nature of the situation. So, I opted for a selection that were basically nothing but fifes and drums and were pretty simplistic in their delivery of the music. I'm really pleased with the results and the sound of the enemy advancing though the battle smoke is often the first warning I get now that an attack is coming.

The downside is that unfortunately, CA failed to allow for faction/class specific sounds files. So, basically the music you download gets played by everyone. So, you do end up with the British playing 'Yankee Doodle' and the American's playing 'British Grenadier'. Just another example of the lack of thought in the design of the game that will hopefuly get corrected eventually.

Since then I must admit I've got a bit carried away.

I discovered that a lot of fine people have been working really hard to correct all the stupidly inaccurate uniforms and flags used in the vanilla game. So, I've been busy this morning downloading new skins for most of the major factions in the game so that their troops actually look like the units they are supposed to be, and some of the historically accurate flags are wonderful.

I've also noticed that some people are able to correct the type of units available, so that some of the stupid ones can be replaced with those units which really ought to have been included instead. I haven't gone that far yet but I suspect eventually I'll get rid of the fantasy units and use some of these mods to replace them with the troops I really want to use in the game.

I think these guys are doing a great job and hopefully will save this game from ending up as another dust trap on my bookshelf. Just a shame that the fans always have to do the real research to make the game work.