BI: What can we learn from BI Demo?

[Monkwarrior]

I've just downloaded and tested the BI Demo and now I'm wonder what can we learn from it.
Most of the information is included in dpack_0.pak, but when I tried to unpack with the Vercingetorix' xpak tool, I don't suceed in obtaining the files.
Has anyone succeded in unpacking this file?

[Dol Guldur]

Nah, I tried too.

Where is Vercin? :)

What can we learn...well...

1. That regions start off (or are permanently set?) with a religious demographic of between 1-3 religions (Christianity, Paganism, Zoroastrianism)

2. That regions have legion names attached to them

3. That there are less resources (I could not see dogs or wild_animals for instance)?

4. That the Carriage Ballistae is a really wicked unit! ;)


Until we see the whole Expansion it is hard to see the usefulness of these new features.

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

I had no luck either. The provinces file provides some useful info. You can alos create your own albeit limited battles but hopefully we can get the PAK extractor working sometime soon.

Interestingly I tried getting some perhaps hidden units. I found that if you try Eastern Archer the unit card actually comes up, he's a really well armoured archer. However, when I try to load the battle it crashes, so the model musn't actually be in there.

[Lysander]

I’ve been trying to get the pak file open to, but nothing I try works. I don’t really know how the xpak program works but I thought the pak that came with the 1.2 patch would hold a hint. If you open the xpak.bat with notepad you can see that the patch_0.pak is not defined, but I got the patch_0.pak open by editing the xpak.bat to:

xpak.exe -mkdir patch_0.pak
xpak.exe patch_0.pak

But this does not work for the dpack_0.pak in the demo. I think maybe the folder structures are different between the demo and the full game and this is why the patch pak works and not the demo pak? Oh well, it is still possible to open the dpack_0.pak in notepad and at least see what will be in the game. For example, the texture of the saxon general is “BI_officer_general_saxons.tga.”
There is a full list of all the units, maybe we could try to get these to come up in the demo, e.g.,
levy_spearman_saxon in the pak is “levy spearman saxon” in the battle text file.

And here is a list of all the factions, some maybe “shadow_factions”:
1 faction empire_east
2 faction empire_west
3 faction franks
4 faction huns
5 faction sarmatians
6 faction sassanids
7 faction saxons
8 faction vandals
9 faction goths
10 faction celts
11 faction ostrogoths
12 faction romano_british
13 faction slavs
14 faction berbers
15 faction slave
16 faction empire_east_rebels
17 faction empire_west_rebels
18 faction roxolani
19 faction burgundii
20 faction lombardi
21 faction alemanni

[Lord Adherbal]

21 factions then. I guess that removes the hope for those who believed there might be more factions available in BI - unless you think it's a coincidence it's exactly the same amount in BI.

And the demo pak is probably encrypted, I believe that was the same for the RTW demo.

[Dol Guldur]

The number of factions is less important, imho, than the ability to represent those factions differently in their building models, portraits, etc. which are determined by culture.

Twenty-one factions is enough for any mod's allocation I think, if they are wise, but only 6 cultures is very limiting. The question is, is there 6 cultures in the Expansion?

Sassanids would appear to be Eastern
Romans are represented
Greeks may be represented in the Eastern Empire (?)
Barbarians - yes, definitely!


But what about two more? Would Berbers be Eastern - though not Moors yet - they might be considered Carthaginian/African?*

Would huns differ from the western barbarians as another culture? I can't imagine the hun and saxon buildings will look the same!

Comments?


* If so, it would hopefully mean that there will be no more cross-culture portrait sharing for eastern/carthage cultures: berbers were much darker-skinned than the Arabs were they not?

[Laridus Konivaich]

In the pak file the one of the cultures is 'huns', so they appear to be their own culture.

All of the units are listed around line 19,100, if you want to look at them. Some of them seem to be even more ahistorical, such as sarmation_virgin_archers

Also, the descriptions:

Faction descriptions for R:TW Barbarian Invasion
BARBARIAN INVASION
The Alemanni Tribes
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED MODERATE

The forests of Germania have been the home of many warlike tribes for many centuries. These are lands that the Romans never managed to subdue. They remain beyond the borders of civilization. The Alemanni are one of the many tribes of this region who can be described as Germans, and were originally an off-shoot of the Suebi. They first came to the notice of the Romans in around 213 AD when they unsuccessfully attacked between the Elbe and Danube rivers. They have also made war upon their neighbours, the Franks, Saxons, Frisians and others, with mixed success.

Now, however, threats and opportunities are conspiring to make the Alemanni look beyond their borders once again. Nomadic peoples from the east are pushing against the more settled Germanic peoples. The weakness of Rome in the west is now becoming obvious: Emperor Julian, who beat the Alemanni in battle in 357, is dead and his successors are not as militarily skilled. The Roman world has split into two once more, and perhaps there are rich lands to be taken from the grasp of a dying empire...

Historically, the Alemanni crossed the frozen Rhine in 366 and occupied Roman territory. Eventually they settled in what would become modern-day southern Germany, Alsace and Switzerland. They also gave French and Spanish the word for German: Allemagne and Alemania.
The Eastern Empire
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED MODERATE

Constantine the Great remade the Roman Empire to suit his own ambitions. He established a new capital in the East at Byzantium, renaming the city Constantinople in his own honour. He established Christianity as the new state religion and, by force of will alone, ruled a united Roman world. Since his death in 337 AD few have been up to the task of ruling the world on their own. The Roman Empire has, by default, been split into two unequal halves.

Centred on Constantinople, the Eastern Roman Empire is rich and powerful, although largely Greek rather than Roman in character. Unlike the West, trade has remained strong and the tax income of the Eastern Emperors has been sufficient to pay for an efficient military machine. This is just as well, because the Eastern Empire has a border with the Sassanids, a powerful successor to the Persian empire of old. It has not, however, suffered too much from incursions by noisome northern barbarians. It is entirely possible that an ambitious Emperor in Constantinople could one day rule in Rome as well, and reunite the Empire beneath his banners.

Historically, the Eastern Empire survived the fall of Rome and its armies marched 'For the Senate and People of Rome' for another 1000 years. The renamed Byzantine Empire finally fell in 1453 AD.
The Western Empire
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED HARD

Since the death of Constantine the Great in 337 AD the Roman Empire has effectively been divided into two unequal halves, and at least nominally Christian. Other men have tried to rule everything, but their efforts have foundered. Julian the Apostate, the last man to try, had spent much of his energy in trying to make the Roman people pagan once again. In this he failed.

Now the Western Empire is the weaker part of the Roman world. Western Europe has never been as rich as the eastern end of the Mediterranean; Imperial taxes and population have been dropping and the upkeep of the army is increasingly difficult. Over the last hundred years barbarians have been allowed to settle in Roman provinces. Barbarians have been allowed to fill the ranks of the Roman Army, and now the Western Empire is vulnerable. A strong Emperor could hold the frontiers against the barbarians from the north and east. A strong Emperor could even reunite the Empire and rule the world from Rome, but this would take a very strong man to carry the title of Augustus.

Historically, the Roman Empire in the West disappeared in 476. Romulus Augustulus, the last Emperor, was so irrelevant that he was merely deposed and allowed to live out his days in retirement. Rome was ruled by a succession of barbarian kings, while learning was kept alive in the West only through the Roman Catholic Church.
The Frankish Tribes
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED EASY

The Franks or Franci - the name was translated 'Free Men' - were a Germanic people originally from the region around the middle and lower Rhine in Western Germany. Tacitus lumped them together with all the ferocious 'Germani' tribes when the Romans first encountered them, but they were organised enough to hold the Romans at bay. They were not organised enough, however, to attack Roman lands as a coherent force, even a couple of centuries later. With the disappearance of the Cherusci as a tribal power the Franks emerged as a coalition of smaller tribes. Such a defensive alliance was inevitable in the face of external pressures, such as the migration of nomadic peoples from the east.

The Franks were, like most Germanic people, famed for fighting on foot and with great bravery; their francisca throwing axes were a fearsome weapon to face. A bold warlord could have every chance of leading the Franks to greatness against the weakening power of Rome in the West.

Historically, the Franks occupied the whole of Gaul by 476 AD, the final collapse of the Western Empire, and eventually gave their new country its name: France.
The Huns
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED EASY

In 376 AD word reached the Roman world of a fierce people far in the east. Goth witches, it was said, had been driven from their own tribes and had then coupled with malign spirits to produce half-men who lived their entire lives on horseback. These creatures were monsters with the faces of devils, horned and strange. More frightening still, the Goths themselves were begging for sanctuary within the Empire. The new terror was, of course, the Huns. They were a completely nomadic people from the wide-open steppes, and one of the most successful to ever emerge from the wilderness to threaten more 'civilized' people. They may even have been the Hsiung-Nu who threatened China.

Wherever they come from, the Huns strike terror into their enemies and have absorbed weaker tribes, such as the Alans, into their ranks. They are the finest horsemen in the world, trained to ride almost before they can walk, and armed with the most effective form of composite bow known in Asia or Europe. They are, simply, a terrible threat to any who stand against them: a vigorous warrior people.

Historically, however, the Huns didn't overrun the former Roman empire. They were fantastically successful but even Attila couldn't subdue Roman power. The Huns found no resting place in Imperial lands, although they did take Hungary and were eventually driven back to the steppes by the Germans.
The Sarmatians
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED MODERATE

The Sarmatians were an Iranian-speaking people who lived on the plains between the Black and Caspian Seas. They were supposedly descended from Scythian fathers and Amazon mothers, at least according to the Greek historian Herodotus. Over the ensuing centuries they moved westwards towards the Don river and Greek accounts say that the region became a desert partly thanks to the savagery of 'the Syrmatae'. The Sarmatians were certainly strong enough to demand tribute from towns around the Black Sea. Sarmatian wives fought alongside their men wearing men's clothes and armour. Sarmatian virgins were not allowed to marry before they had slaughtered an enemy. Fighting as armoured horsemen and horse archers the Sarmatians were dangerous opponents.

The Sarmatians are a naturally warlike people, and have the potential to rule the open steppes and much of Europe. Their situation is not without risks, however, as they are surrounded by equally warlike barbarians and steppe nomads. To the south the Sassanid Empire could be rich pickings if the Sassanids are sufficiently distracted by a confrontation with the Romans.

Historically the Sarmatians were renowned as warriors. As auxiliaries in the service of Rome they even ended up in Britannia. Those within Roman lands at least survived as a distinct group. Beyond Rome's frontiers the Sarmatians were wiped out by the Huns.
The Sassanid Empire
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED MODERATE

The Sassanids were the last native dynasty to rule in Persia after the Parthians were overthrown and before the Arab conquest of later centuries. Sitting astride the trade routes to the east, the Sassanid court was fabulously opulent, and the empire was dynamic and efficiently run. The military was equally efficient and dangerous, and a constant challenge to the Eastern Roman Empire. What caused much of the tension with the Romans was the establishment of Zoroastrianism as the state religion in Sassanid lands and the subsequent persecution of Christians. This gave the Romans a pretext for war whenever it was needed. The Sassanids were certainly organised enough to expand their control of Armenia and to hold off the various steppe peoples. Rather than move southwards into Sassanid lands, most of these chose to head west towards the richer and far easier pickings of Rome.

A strong Sassanid leader has the chance to expand westwards while both halves of the Roman Empire are distracted by their own squabbles and barbarian hordes.

Historically the Sassanids lasted over 400 years from the fall of the Parthians until the coming of Islam and the Arabs. Islam replaced Zoroastrianism and the Caliphate made Persia a part of a new society.
The Saxons
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED MODERATE

The Saxons were a people from modern-day north Germany, Denmark and northern Holland. They were a warlike and harsh folk and, like many of the German tribes, under pressure from the influx of eastern nomadic peoples. However, instead of looking to the south, the Saxons looked across the sea to the Roman province of Britannia. Increasing pressure from Saxon raiders, invaders and finally settlers encouraged the construction of a line of coastal forts in Britain. In 410 AD the Saxons provoked the British into appealing directly to the Emperor for help. It wasn't forthcoming. The Saxons proved to be quite vigorous expansionists, adept both as coastal sailors (which is all they needed to be) and warriors. Their style of warfare was typically Germanic in that it emphasised individual heroism rather than an organised military. It was, however, a very effective way of fighting.

A Saxon leader should be able to match the historical achievements of the Saxons in taking most of the old Roman province of Britannia. Warfare against the other German tribes should also prove challenging but probably victorious. The Saxons, however, will be at a disadvantage fighting against any people who rely on horses for their military power.

Historically, the Saxons and Angles (a sub-tribe) created the idea of England instead of Britain. Their influence and language has lasted until the present day.
The Vandals
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED MODERATE

The Vandals had lived for centuries in the area that would later be Silesia, but under pressure from nomadic peoples, the Vandals began moving westwards, eventually crossing into Roman territory. Their westward progression caused a domino-like effect in other tribes too. Unlike some other peoples, the Vandals kept on moving once they reached Gaul, crossing into Hispania. They were granted lands by the Western Roman Empire, but they did not stay in Spain. They moved further south into Northern Africa and eventually they took the rebuilt city of Carthage as their new capital. Eventually, they would sack Rome itself, but attack from the south having marched around the end of the Western Mediterranean and crossed back into southern Italy. Unlike many other barbarians the Vandals were Christian, having converted to the Arian form of the faith. This would lead their rulers to persecute Roman and Orthodox Christians unlucky enough to be in their lands.

Although seemingly unsettled, the Vandals are actually a powerful nation on the move with an effective military. They manage to adapt well to different conditions and deal with a variety of enemies on their long march. A competent leader should be able to take them to victory.
The Goths
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED EASY

The Goths were an ancient Germanic people from the Baltic coast region who migrated towards Dacia in the 3rd century AD, but before that they were reputed to have crossed the Baltic from their original homeland. They settled around the Vistula river and at some point the tribes divided into the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths, or Western Goths. The Western Goths were the first barbarians to carry out a major incursion into Roman territory and, while the other barbarians were even more brutal in their warmaking, the Goths struck fear into the enemies. Their practice of sacrificing captives to their war god, Tyz, was particularly horrifying.

This practice has been abandoned now that the Goths have adopted the Arian version of Christianity. They are, however, still dangerous warriors and well able to exploit any weakness in Roman lands or among their more barbarous neighbours.

Historically the Goths were driven across the Danube and into Roman territory by pressure from the steppes. While the Goths tried to behave peaceably the Romans treated them abominably. At the battle of Adrianople in 378 the Goths destroyed an Imperial army and killed the Emperor.
The Celts
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED NON-PLAYABLE

The Celts are the pre-Roman inhabitants of Britain who were never subdued after the invasion in 55 AD. Hadrian took the decision to build a physical barrier to separate northern Britannia from the Picts to the north (in what is now Scotland). No Roman ever felt it was worthwhile to establish Roman domination over the Scotii (in modern Ireland). As a result the old ways lingered on in these remote areas. Now, with Roman power on the wane, the Celts are looking to the rich province of Britannia. Their style of warfare has not changed much and would have been recognisable to Julius Caesar. Raids into the relatively rich Romano-British provinces are now an attractive option, as is conquest and the re-establishment of traditional ways.
The White Huns
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED NON-PLAYABLE

The White Huns - called the Hephthalites by Greek scholars - were a nomadic and apparently well-travelled people from the steppes who were known to the Chinese, Indians and Persians by an assortment of names. They were, however, the same distinct group, as their customs stayed the same for generations. The Greeks certainly thought that they were part of the Hunnic nation, although they were known to stay apart from other Huns.

As with any other steppe people, they did not have settlements until they invaded more civilized areas. In the case of the White Huns they attacked southwards into Transoxania and eventually invaded Persia and the Ganges valley in India.
The Ostrogoths
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED NON-PLAYABLE

The eastern Goths settled in the Ukraine until effectively subdued by the arrival of the Huns. After the dissolution of Hun power they were allies of the Eastern Roman Empire and were persuaded to attack Italy. The sheer breadth of Goth lands meant that it was almost inevitable that a single people would split into competing sub-kingdoms.
The Roman-British
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED NON-PLAYABLE

Britannia had been a part of the Roman world for nearly 350 years, and Christian for almost a century. The province was on the edge of the Empire, but that didn't make it any less important. Constantine the Great had actually been proclaimed Emperor in Eboracum (York) in northern Britannia. A tremor of fear must have gone through the people, however, when the last Legions were withdrawn to defend the Imperial heartlands.

In 410 AD the inhabitants of Britannia were disappointed to find out that their formal request for help to defend their corner of the Roman Empire had been turned down. Emperor Honorius wrote to them saying, in effect, that they were on their own, and that defence of the Saxon Shore - as the vulnerable coastline was called - was in their own hands. Honorius had his reasons, but this was of no satisfaction to the loyal Britons.

In place of the Roman Empire a series of petty leaders and kingdoms emerged to provide some measure of local defence against the Picts in the north and the Saxons from the continent. All owed allegiance to the idea of a High King of Britannia, and they were still recognisably Roman in many ways. The old ways were not going to disappear without a fight and, while the Romano-British are essentially a defensive force in military terms, they are not necessarily one that will inevitably be defeated...
The Slavs
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED NON-PLAYABLE

The Slavs are an Indo-European people who appeared in eastern Europe millennia ago. At some point in the 2nd Century AD they crossed the Carpathian mountains into what is now Romania and Slovakia, but saw no need to march any further south or westwards. Over the next couple of centuries the coming of the Huns, Avars and other nomads drove the Slavs towards the Balkans, where they ran into Roman and Byzantine forces.

The word 'slave' came into French and then English thanks to Charlemagne's wars against the Slavs in later centuries as a direct result of his captives being sold into servitude.
The Berbers
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED NON-PLAYABLE

The Moors and Berbers represent the many desert peoples who harried the Roman Empire in north Africa as the Western Empire slowly declined. A change in the climate may have helped drive these tribes to attack the Roman frontier, or it may simply have been the perceived weakness of Roman garrisons. In either case, the danger was such that the Romans were forced to construct a limes, or system of frontier forts, and provide for garrison troops to protect their holdings. The desert raiders were never quite strong enough to drive the Romans or the later Vandals into the sea and claim the North African littoral as their own.
The Moors
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED NON-PLAYABLE

The Moors and Berbers represent the many desert peoples who harried the Roman Empire in north Africa as the Western Empire slowly declined. A change in the climate may have helped drive these tribes to attack the Roman frontier, or it may simply have been the perceived weakness of Roman garrisons. In either case, the danger was such that the Romans were forced to construct a limes, or system of frontier forts, and provide for garrison troops to protect their holdings. The desert raiders were never quite strong enough to drive the Romans or the later Vandals into the sea and claim the North African littoral as their own.

The Vandals
Difficulty Factor: ESTIMATED MODERATE

The Vandals had lived for centuries in the area that would later be Silesia, but under pressure from nomadic peoples, the Vandals began moving westwards, eventually crossing into Roman territory. Their westward progression caused a domino-like effect in other tribes too. Unlike some other peoples, the Vandals kept on moving once they reached Gaul, crossing into Hispania. They were granted lands by the Western Roman Empire, but they did not stay in Spain. They moved further south into Northern Africa and eventually they took the rebuilt city of Carthage as their new capital. Eventually, they would sack Rome itself, but attack from the south having marched around the end of the Western Mediterranean and crossed back into southern Italy. Historically - and unlike many other barbarians - individual Vandals were attracted to the new faith of Christianity and many converted to the Arian form of the religion. In time, this lead to persecutions of Roman and Orthodox Christians unlucky enough to be in Vandal lands. There is, however, no guarantee that the Vandals will automatically become an Arian Christian people.

Although seemingly unsettled, the Vandals are actually a powerful nation on the move with an effective military. They manage to adapt well to different conditions and deal with a variety of enemies on their long march. A competent leader should be able to take them to victory.

[Dol Guldur]

You extracted the PAk file?

[alman7272]

21 factions then. I guess that removes the hope for those who believed there might be more factions available in BI - unless you think it's a coincidence it's exactly the same amount in BI.

And the demo pak is probably encrypted, I believe that was the same for the RTW demo.

Well, it does give people the option to break up the Romans and distribute them to other factions instead of forcibly tying them together. But yeah, seems disappointing.

[g3n]

Please tell me these are not going to be the Roman's strongest units, no offense to the BI demo, but if this is the case then those units are absolutely pathetic. The cavalry in the game is top quality based on what i've seen, but the infantry, well...."bah!" is all I have to say about them.

[player1]

Prince Laridus Konivaich,
Please tell me in what files you found faction descriptions you posted.

I browsed through main dpack_0.pak and haven't found such info.