The Caravel Mod

[gollum]

Hello Stazi,

If I understand correctly they need SPEARMAKER4 or TOWN_WATCH4 right?

That's right. You can set a unit dependency on multiple builds. I did this as the predominant training place for the Halberdiers for the many catholic factions that get them is the town_watch4. I wanted however to give Halberdiers to the Russians (historically plausible as late era Novgorod and Muscovite armies used westernised equipment) did have them and also for gameplay reasons to have a late era heavy infantry unit. However, the town_watch for the Orthodox did not have that many dependencies and so i ended that line of buildings in town_watch1. Hence i needed to give the Halberdiers through another way, and sincemany polerams and axe units are given through the spearmaker (varangians and billmen and Janissary heavies say) i decided to give the Halberdiers through the spearmaker4 (it is also equivalent to the town_watch4 ie you get in in Citadels, the same tier).

Halberdiers, as well as pikes, gendarmes and arbalesters, are intended as late and latish era units in the mod. I did not like them being introduced in 1204, as that is pretty historically unplausible and also gives everything out all at once that makes many other units of that period (high and late early) obsolete.

So i tied the buildings that make them to the gunpowder event that allows them to be build at about 1270's iirc. but not before that. This is the case with arbalesters, as well as the other high level militia units like handgunners, as the town_watch3 (and so 4) require gunpowder.

You can think of this, or at least i do, to reflect the social changes (shift between the feudal monarchies to more centralised monarchies and more numerous mass armies) that reflect organisational and so tactical changes in the field of battle and in armies.

The spearmaker being tied to gunpowder falls in the same category. There are very few factions that get those very high level buildings (the Turks, The Russians and maybe no other iirc).

The alternative would be to make the arbalesters, late era units only, but in that case, the AI factions would be building the buildings for them, and would have to wait for yars and years to build the units,

In this way, the latish era units (like arbalesters) come at the end of the high era, and the buildings that produce them are allowed by teh AI factions to be build at the end of the high era as well. Some of the high level militia units are iirc late era only (like the halberdiers and pikes and arquebusiers), but for them again there is no problem, as the buildings to produce them are build late in the high era by the AI factions as mentioned. In this way, the AI factions do not waste money and build time for units they will get 60 or more turns later, so they can concentrate on the builds of their era and have better stacks.

By the way the halberdiers are something like a mild version of Chivalric Foot Knights. They are still slow, but they have good attack, good morale and really top notch defence of course. They are not a fodder unit as in vanilla and cost also lots to get.

Rebel units look totally random. Full stack of Highland Clansman in Portugal, Steppe Cavalry in Pomerania, etc.

Actually the rebel groups are relatively ok, apart from 2 or 3 exceptions. The most notable is highland clansmen. i have taken them out of the rebel groups, given them only to catholics and also made them Scotland only. Despite that they keep appearing in every rebellion that happens in high rebelliousness provinces particularly in Portugal and Valencia. I am really desperate with them, to the point that i am thinking to take them outcompletely.

The equivalent unit to clansmen for muslim units are the Murabitin.

One potential reason is taht both these units are on top of teh list in the file and also are very cheap, hence they are very much preferred by the engine in the rebel groups.

Many other units (most actually) are part in the rebel groups and apart from the ones mantioned they can come alright.

Steppe cavalry are Golden Horde only in the mod and have no homelands (so the Horde can build them anywhere). Hence why you may get rebellions with them especially when the Horde occupied there etc. However there are plenty of eastern steppe specific units in the rebel mix and most of teh time it comes out ok and with the right flavor.

EDIT: the Steppe cavalry being Horde only is also exclusively pagan, and appearing in Pomerania (that is in its base pagan) makes sense. If i take them out of the rebel mix, maybe there is a risk that they won't be included in teh Horde's stacks in the Horde appearance and re-appearance. So i am reluctant to do so.