Most difficult VI campaign

[Pericles]

Satyr:

The only mod that I have played for any period is the Helenic Total War Mod. I want to play more mods, but it seems that several of the better mods are being tweaked and new versions will be released soon.

Even so, I am finding that just tweaking the amount of florins I give other factions has given me a good run for my money :)

When I do get bored with that I will be trying out more mods.

I have heard that medmod has some problems with it: if the AI loses its homeland (and thus its unique units) it is doomed to fall. Also if Arab countries conquer say Spain they can't build ships in the Atlantic.

[Satyr]

Medmod 3.14 has been out for a looooong time and is very stable. As to your concerns, if a faction loses all it's homeland provinces it probably is pretty squashed already and deserves to die and make room for the powerful. Shipping was split into two distinct areas so that the AI factions could trade more successfully and boy do they. They actually probably build too many ships now but they get rich trading just like you and me, so they are rich enough to build good troops. Spain is kind of weird in that no one can build ships there that started in the med. However, there are many other provinces in the Atlantic and Baltic that let you build ships. I never quite understood what Wes's intention was regarding shipping as it makes very little sense. However, those two issues just don't matter and the AI makes much better decisions and you can get a great game. It is actually a better game than just starting with more money!

I just loaded the XL mod and so far it seems pretty good. Me (Scots) the French and the Byz are all getting big and the fighting when we meet in battle should be spectacular.

[Pericles]

Medmod 3.14 has been out for a looooong time and is very stable. As to your concerns, if a faction loses all it's homeland provinces it probably is pretty squashed already and deserves to die and make room for the powerful. Shipping was split into two distinct areas so that the AI factions could trade more successfully and boy do they. They actually probably build too many ships now but they get rich trading just like you and me, so they are rich enough to build good troops. Spain is kind of weird in that no one can build ships there that started in the med. However, there are many other provinces in the Atlantic and Baltic that let you build ships. I never quite understood what Wes's intention was regarding shipping as it makes very little sense. However, those two issues just don't matter and the AI makes much better decisions and you can get a great game. It is actually a better game than just starting with more money!

I just loaded the XL mod and so far it seems pretty good. Me (Scots) the French and the Byz are all getting big and the fighting when we meet in battle should be spectacular.

Thanks for the replies. I may give each of the mods a go after a while. I have limited hard drive space, so it would be difficult to have more than one install of MTW and still be able to play other games :)

Even so, just giving other factions more florins does increase playability, and there are no CTDs or other issues due to installing mods :)

BTW, in the VI campaign I have used the Gnome editor to edit forest clearing/farm improvemenst to have the following build times: 2,4,6,8. Should it really take 16 years to clear some forest to build farms (as in the default game)? With my edits it takes only two years to clear forests. This also frees up the AI from spending 16 years building this improvement and thus is NOT building other worthwhile improvements...

Cheers!

[Pericles]

Just started up a new VI Campaign yesterday playing Irish on Hard and gave ALL other factions 100,000 florins each.

Very interesting campaign so far.

After taking over all of Ireland (subdued the Scots there and fought several battles with the Vikings), I have challenged the Vikings for control of the inland waterway between Ireland and the British Isles.

After several major naval clashes with the Vikings I finally established control of the waters just west and south of Ireland. The Vikings control the northern waters off Ireland as well as all other waterways and ocean.

I then managed to invade the British Isles in two places taking over territory from the rebels. However, if I am going to subdue all of the British Isles I am going to have my work cut out for me:

In the south, both the Northumbrians and the Saxons are major superpowers. I am allied with them at the moment, and the Saxons have been very helpful as an ally (they have sent troops to help me in two battles). They have many upgraded units (including the dreaded Huscarles) and they are building a fleet. Both of these countries will be tough to take on.

In the north I don't know too much that is going on (since the Vikings have naval supremacy there, I haven't been able to scout up there), but from what I can tell the Vikings and Scots have been at war for some time.

I may have to try to challenge the Vikings in the northern waters and drive them off, and see if I can start a war with the Scots. One look at the massive Saxon armies in the south makes me realize I am not ready to take on these tough blokes yet...

Should be quite interesting to see what happens...