Ivar the Boneless

[amagi]

It's possible to retain immersion when using a metaphor from the past but not one from the future, then?

I suppose if I wanted to have royal bodyguards overwhelmed by peasants I would leave them alone in a low loyalty province to fight large numbers of rebels, which would be quite easy to arrange, but I don't follow what antisocialmunky's analogy is about.

Enuff wid der philosophy. Apart from not having noticed any famous heroes appearing as generals, I'm happy with 'The Great Army'. I've left the Viking strategy as 'Barbarian_raider', as it's difficult for them to hold territory for long because of religious differences. Making them Christian two centuries early might work, if you were prepared to put up with references to the 'Salvation Army'.

The Vikings of 'The Great Army' often hold much of the east coast in the late ninth century and are a menace and a naval superpower until 1066, even without silver mines in Scandinavia. I've increased the amount of tradeable goods, which is to the advantage of the Vikings since their control of trade was the main reason for its general decline in the Dark Ages, and I've also added custom unit and building production, to help all the factions. The finished campaign shouldn't overwrite or affect the original, however.

[Satyr]

I have been playing a Pict campaign with Beefy Vikings loaded. Here is what I think would really help the Vikings in addition to what has already been done. They never further develop their economic buildings so I would start those even higher than beefy does. I would also change them to be 'expansionists' instead of 'raiders'. They are indeed a serious pain in the a$$ in Beefy, but they never grow so eventually they get overwhelmed. If they took and held and developed just a few additional provinces it would help them a lot. If they could take over Ireland entirely, along with Manua and Domon then they would stay formidable until the end game and would actually have a chance to win. Getting them to do that is a whole nother issue though. Good luck, I look forward to playing your mod. If you need someone to test for you, just ask.

[amagi]

Satyr, I've changed the Viking unit and building production and given them the highest level of farm improvements, since the success of raids led to migrations because of the lack of land in Scandinavia. Beefy uses silver mines to give the Vikings an economic advantage that I'm trying to get by trading, since they control the seas.

The faction behaviour setting doesn't seem to ensure that the Vikings hold territory. The problem is that the setting is affected by hardcoded factors, one of which seems to be the Viking conversion to Christianity. The 'expansionist' behaviours just puzzle the Great Army, until they start raiding again.

Thanks for offering to playtest. I should be ready to release a first version after the weekend.

[amagi]

I've finished 'The Great Army' and it can be downloaded from the 'latest Medieval uploads' section of this site ( beyond 'upload a file' ). I haven't used a link, since the files will eventually be moved to be with the other campaigns. The only original file which will be overwritten is loc/startpos, to add the description of the campaign.

This is the Campaign Guide from the ReadMe:

Campaign Guide

The campaign is intended to be played at the expert level of difficulty. It begins in 867, with the Great Army in possession of York, and ends in 1016, when Cnut's invasion and conquest made England part of his Viking kingdom.

Irish- harder than the level chosen. The Irish are poor and divided amongst themselves. It may not be difficult to expel the Vikings from Dublin, but they will still retain control of the seas. The Saxons are building a navy as well.

Mercians- easier than the level chosen. The Mercians are still wealthy and powerful in 866, if no longer the overlords of England. Though that wealth is sure to tempt the dangerous Great Army, just to the north, the Mercian provinces are inland and are not as vulnerable to sea-borne raids as those of Wessex.

Northumbrians- much harder than the level chosen. If the Northumbrians accept the loss of Dere, they become much weaker- if they attempt to retake it they risk a catastrophe.

Saxons- much easier than the level chosen. Since 825 Wessex has been the leading kingdom of England. However, the kingdom is not organised for war and there are no ships to guard the vulnerable east and south coasts. The war in the north reduces the risk of Viking raids, allowing the Saxons to prosper in peace, for a time.

Scots- harder than the level chosen. After decades of civil war and treachery most of Scotland is at last united under one king. A prudent Scottish ruler can use the Great Army as an opportunity to deal with the weaker Vikings to the north, the English kingdoms on the lowland territory to the south and any rebels or resurgent Picts.

Vikings- much easier than the level chosen. Seapower has brought the Vikings territory all over Britain, but the less wealthy outposts have to be defended whilst England is plundered.

Welsh- harder than the level chosen. The Welsh have a long land border to defend against the Mercians, who may renew their attacks on their oldest enemy, despite the Viking threat.