Best MOD for MTW: VI

[Shahed]

Greetings All

What is the most realistic/best mod in your opinion for MTW: VI ?

[Geezer57]

Greetings All

What is the most realistic/best mod in your opinion for MTW: VI ?

I put my vote in for XL Mod, as the GA portion works and the trade restriction helps the strategic AI. Not to disparage BKB or MedMod, both of which are also great (I have them all on my hard drive!). But XL just seems a teeny bit better, IMHO.

[MuseRulez]

Well, I never tried XL mod, so no comment on that one. The old versions of MedMod were great and version 4 looks promising, I'm going to try it soon. I tried HTW and NTW which were ok but not that great for me. Currently I'm playing BKB's Super mod which is fantastic, lots of new factions and units, to bad GA doesn't work .

[edyzmedieval]

BKB's mod owns. The XL mod is a bit down because it doesn't have so many new units, and the trade has been restricted.

[fester]

Well, I never tried XL mod, so no comment on that one. The old versions of MedMod were great and version 4 looks promising, I'm going to try it soon. I tried HTW and NTW which were ok but not that great for me. Currently I'm playing BKB's Super mod which is fantastic, lots of new factions and units, to bad GA doesn't work .

Whats meant by the GA ???? and is there a summary any were thats tellss what each mod actualy does???

[Mithrandir]

GA=Glorious Achievements.

[MuseRulez]

Whats meant by the GA ???? and is there a summary any were thats tellss what each mod actualy does???

You could look in the Engineers Guild to get details on a specific mod. Super Mod:lots of new units, new factions and 3 new maps (old maps with new provinces). XL mod: some (compared to Super mod) new units and factions, trade restrictions so you have to get your cash from province income and pillaging. Medmod: the Homelands system and a total rebalancing of existing units (especially to Muslim factions).
There are also total conversions, they have nothing to do with the medievil age. For example NTW: Napoleonic Era HTW: Ancient Greece and METW: Lord of the Rings
Smaller mods do the same but only on a smaller scale.

[amritochates]

You have to specify what kind of Mod are you looking for, since different individuals have different expectations out of each mod. To illustate further,

a. If you looking for improved gameplay, advanced AI , brand new factions and units, brand new maps and massively increased replayability within the time frame of Vanilla MTW(1087-1453) then the best mods are Viking Horde's XL mod and BKB's Super mod with the major differences between them besides the fact that Super Mod has no grand achievements mode yet(though I do recall reading about a fan working on a GA mode for the Super Mod on his own) being that the XL mod also comes in a substantially smaller Lite version that is easier for dial up users to download, any other difference being purely a matter of personal preferences.

I deliberately do not include the Med Mod series upto 3.14 since I personally disagree with the changes that Med Mod introduces viewing them as ahistorical as well as reducing replayability, though I am reserving my judgement on MedModIV till the full version comes out since it appears to be a welcome change from the earlier versions including the first ever complete overhaul of the unit AI system and sundry other changes.Therefore judgement is hereby suspended on MedModIV as well as Age of Warlords by BKB, since to give opinions on BETA versions is IMO unethical.

b. If you are looking for a fantasy mod then do try out the METW or Middle Earth_Total WAr.

c.For mods that are set in the time period after Vanilla MTW you have two choices:
1.NTW or Napoleanic Total War set during the napoleanic era.
2.PMTW1.0_Beta or Pike and Musket_Total War set in the period
1480-1700

d.Fnally for mods set in the period before Vanilla MTW you have the excellent Fall of Rome 3.0.

So to conclude each of these mods are in my opinion the best in their respective spheres.

[ToranagaSama]

Frankly, if you're looking for the best [Igameplay[/i], the MedMod is it hands down. If you're looking to have the AI utilize its ships more sensibly; alliances to work properly; Factions and Units to be balanced for the greatest gameplay chanllenge; all with a nod toward the historical, but prioritizing gameplay, then the MedMod is the best there is.

The caveate is that the MedMod is REALLY tough to beat, and it can take awhile to grasp and comprehend all the changes---it is VERY comprehensive. Seeking to re-balance the entire game, as opposed to just aspects of it.

I deliberately do not include the Med Mod series since I personally disagree with the changes that Med Mod introduces viewing them as ahistorical as well as reducing replayability, though you might have an opinion different from mine.

I do.

What, prey tell, reduces replayability?

BTW, which version have you played?

[Del Arroyo]

I haven't played the others, but put blunty, the MedMod is sweet. No doubt at all.

DA

Edit : Language

Mithrandir

[amritochates]

Post Deleted by Author in service of the greater good of the community.

[Martok]

Well I only have VikingHorde's XL Mod, and therefore can't compare it to MedMod or BKB's SuperMod. Having said that, however, downloading the XL Mod has improved my playing experience tremendously. The new factions (including unlocking the Papacy and the Novgorods in Early), the new units, and improved AI (it's now better at building structures and training higher-quality troops) have all contributed to making Medieval that much more fun to play now. What's also really cool is that you can still play GA mode, even with the new factions.


I can think of only a couple features that could maybe be seen as drawbacks:

1.) It neuters trade income somewhat, in favor of increasing farm income instead. I personally have no problem with this, however, since VikingHorde did this to help level the field so that the AI-controlled factions have a better chance against the human-controlled faction (as the AI is better at doing farming upgrades than it is at building up a trade network). This also has the benefit of allowing factions with limited sea access (such as Novgorod, the Turks, and the HRE) to not be at such a financial disadvantage in comparison to factions that are big traders (such as the Byz, Egyptians, and Sicilians). Sure I miss the massive trade income, but I can live with it.

2.) Many of the bonuses to units trained/built in certain provinces have been eliminated. That means no more +1 Clansmen from Scotland, no more +1 Vikings from Norway, no more +1 Longboats from Denmark, etc. Again, I believe this has been done in the interests of game balance, but I admittedly still really miss the bonuses that are no longer there.

All that aside, however, XL is still an awesome mod, and I highly recommend to everyone that plays MTW/VI!!

[Advo-san]

XL mod= Many nations and GA
BKB supermod= So many units and historic accuracy... Oh my god!

If you get over the wanna-get-all-the-GA-points syndrome, BKB is the total mod. But the XL combines GA and an interesting map. Depends on what you want! BKB is battle-oriented, XL is map-oriented. Try 'em both!

PS: To all patrons. Be carefull of your comments, this thread might hurt some people who worked very hard and did a fantastic job.

PS2: It must be the third time I ve seen this topic around here....

[Eternal Champion]

If everybody just remembers that these are each persons opinions then everything should be fine. That is why there are different makers and models of every product. There's many ways to skin a cat and each modder has their own ideas to get to the finished product, doesn't make them bad, just different.

[Odin]

Wasnt expecting to see another "best mod" thread for at least another 2 weeks.


They are all great, MTW has been out so long that the mods out there really have had time to grow through play testing. I dont think you can go wrong with any of them. Personally, I always take mods that have been play tested and tweeked per the communities input.

BKB's mod, and XL mod seem to fit that criteria. Personally I play XL mod, the trade income has been ramped down signifigantly, and as they say "land is power".

Try them all if you can, I'd reccommend a 2nd install and NTW as well, thats a fun mod as well.

[Helgi]

For me I've tried BKB's Super MOD, VikingHorde's XL Mod, NAP for MTW, HTW, Pike and Musket for MTW and STW for MTW and Love 1. BKB's SuperMod 2. NAP for MTW, 3. XL & STW. Problem with HTW was that when just about to win, I would all of a sudden fight off rebellion from half or 3/4's of my empire which I found annoying. P&WTW was ok, have not played it enough.

[Shahed]

Thanks everyone, for your suggestions.
Does anyone know if there is an MTW mod for RTW which is ready ?

[L'Impresario]

Thanks everyone, for your suggestions.
Does anyone know if there is an MTW mod for RTW which is ready ?

There is generally no finished full-conversion mod yet. But Chivalry: Total War has released a beta (early era custom/historical battles and MP) and the early era campaign is almost completed.
There are numerous forums about the mod, this one's being the main:

http://www.stratcommandcenter.com/fo...p?showforum=40

[Dutch_guy]

Well Chivalry total war is downloadable for MP games, and I liked playing the multiplayer part of it , read more in the Chiv total war MP section of the .org.

Howevr the Singleplayer part of the game was still in production, and I haven't heard about that in a while.

EDIT: got beaten to it I suppose...

[Shahed]

Holy Smoking Herring!

That Mod looks absolutely AMAZING.

[Graphic]

My favorite has to be XL mod. It doesn't have as much content as BKB but it's more polished. I don't think it was intended to add loads of content but polish the original game which it does perfectly.

BKB is great but I have some small, maybe even superficial, complaints with it. The campaign map is blurry and I don't like the new faction colors, and the new provinces don't look right to me...a lot of their boarders are perfectly straight lines or smooth curves...not "random" like the original boarders. It's still very good and I play it often.

XL just a notch above for it's polish.

[Mithrandir]

Please think before you post!.

People bashing other mods will get warned.
People explaining constructively why they don't like a mod won't get warned.

-Mithrandir

[Graphic]

Gah!

I fall into the latter category, don't I?

[Matty]

I just like to thank those who go through the effort to mod the game - the XL mod has significantly improved my quality of life.

Please beware - my girlfriend is hunting you down.

[bretwalda]

I just like to thank those who go through the effort to mod the game - the XL mod has significantly improved my quality of life.

Please beware - my girlfriend is hunting you down.

I second. I love XL mod - basically a new game!!!
About the hunting thing: I already started gf assimilation process - hopefully will convert to mtw (xl)

[ToranagaSama]

How about the fact that I only get mercenary gallowglasses as my only decent melee unit as the English or that 90% of the units are clones of each other with no variation being brought about in the Unit Graphics(Even the most basic of Modders can do that for heavens sake!!) or even that for amod that prides itself on historical accuracy the use of Mamluk Cavalry as the Egyptian Bodyguard Unit when the Mamluk Era should properly start in the High Era.

But what really infruriated me was the "Homelands Concept"(The areas where factions can recruit their units are called Homelands. ) That has to be the most ahistorical idea that I ever heard. It basically pre supposes that the historical timeline is a fixed constant with no variation allowed, which defeats the entire purpose of the game which is to allop the player to re-create the historical timelines as he or she chooses. In effect what the medMod states is that everything is fixed, The Almohads should not be able to conquer Europe and even if they do so it is an aberration and therefore after an 100 years of Islamisation and cultural integration I still should not be able to recruit any units out of Flanders since it is not a Homeland for my faction. This is unacceptable, and remains so because the MTW engine cannot support this concept, the actual concept that was ultimately introduced by CA in RTW is culture (A concept that has nothing to do with Homelands whatever Wes claims), where one cannot immediately recruit units immediately after conquering the province but must wait till the province is culturally integrated which is the historically accurate version.

Basically in my opinion what the Med_Mod series does is to make the game harder not by improving the AI but by putting restictions on the player's ability to expand. That is according to me just another variation of Ironman rules- something else that I refuse to follow.

To sum up I would just like to restate that this is my personal opinion and others might have an opinion different from mine as is their right.

I wrote a reply to the above, but inadvertently deleted it days ago. Quickly though, I don't believe the poster is being honest in his comments. At best he's being contrary.

First, the MedMod is not intended to be a HISTORICAL mod. Specifically, as I recall, WesW created the mod in the same spirit as his mod for Call to Power.

That is the aim was to correct all the, errors, omissions, and bugs, existing in the vanilla version. Then he moved to better balance the Units and Factions to provide more challenging gameplay. Of course, there were some changes made with a historical node, but was not the focus, and the historical is superceded by the focus upon Gameplay. That is if a historical change was found to be detrimental to gameplay it wasn't made or was altered toward gameplay.

Some whose focus is more strictly upon the historical might find the choices of the MedMod not to their preference, but as I've said their preference is not the purpose of the Mod; and the choices made were and are the RIGHT choices.

WesW's MedMod is superior (absolutely no disrespect intended to any modder) in that his efforts have a comprehesive reach exceeding others. Which is to say that the MedMod is a monumental effort.

The effort at *Corrections* alone was a HUGE task!!!

The *re-balancing* was an equally daunting task!

I do not recall specifically regarding *graphical* changes, though I believe there were some made. In any event, GRAPHICS was NOT the focus. If pretty graphics is one's focus, perhaps Rome is more to one's liking. If Gameplay is the focus there is no better mod.

That said, WesW was so successful in his efforts, that MedMod Gameplay is not for the novice player, nor is it experienced, but *poor* players. IMVUHO, the MedMod is for the Hardcore, or *Committed* player, that is commited to testing and improving one's skill level.

If Losing is not for you, then the MedMod is not for you. Because you WILL lose. You will lose battles, and you WILL lose your first Campaign, with few exceptions. I don't believe I know of anyone who beat the MedMod on the first try. In the early days of the MedMod, people such as myself, very experienced players were **shocked** to have lost.

Many experienced Expert level players, had to notch it down for the first Campaign. I did.

If you're looking for just a casual change from Vanilla, the MedMod will shock you, as the changes are so comprehensive and game altering.

For example, the poster is rather infuriated that he doesn't have what he considers "decent melee units". Well, he still thinks he's playing Vanilla. You will need to alter your approach to the game. You cannot play it like Vanilla. Most significantly, you're going to have to up your skill level to be successful Both your battle skills and your Campaign skills. You are not just going to be able use overpowered units to conquer your way thru the map. SKILLZ!!!

The poster is more focused upon **graphical** unit differences, rather than UNIT BALANCE differences!! Perhaps, if one is historically hardcore this matters more. I don't understand it. Frankly, though I don't know what the poster is talking about, as there is effort made to make the units graphically distinct. Perhaps not to an extent pleasing the poster. Who cares?

Regarding the "Homelands" concept as being ahistorical? He has got to be joking!!

From his point of view he wants to be able to build the Camel unit (forget name) in Flanders; and is pissed that the MedMod will not allow him to do so. He calls this ahistorical. Claiming that after years of assimilation Camels will grow in Flanders!! ;)

The poster is not being logical on many levels, but the main point being he wants to *ahistorically* have acces to *any* unit in *any* province. His basis for this reasoning is that the game is inherently ahistorical, as the Almo never did conquer Europe.

Ok, so he wishes to pile ahistory on top of ahistory, rather than make some attempt at correction.

More to the point, highlighting the contradictory nature of the poster, he rails against his PRECEIVED ahistorical nature of the Homelands concept, while, at the simulatenously, exclaiming his disatisfaction at not being able to build Camels in Flanders!!!

Non-sensical.

The truth of the matter, I think, is evident. The player had difficulty in comprehending the Mod, difficulty in playing the Mod, and even more difficulty in beating the Mod.

His appear to my view, are simply excuses. Like I said, the MedMod takes a good skill level. Those w/o the skillz, will be beat and seek excuses.

Basically in my opinion what the Med_Mod series does is to make the game harder not by improving the AI but by putting restictions on the player's ability to expand. That is according to me just another variation of Ironman rules- something else that I refuse to follow.

The reality is evident. He lost!

Expansion is not restricted. You have to be a *better* skilled player---PERIOD!

JFYI, the AI cannot be improved, as it is hard-coded. What can be improved in the game's overall balance creating an environment which will allow the AI to function more efficiently and closer to how it was intended.

The AI, in a real way, does not necessarily need improvement. RTW, as well as, the new *beta* version 4 of the MedMod, IMVUHO, proves that the AI is greatly effected by the overall balance of the game (including the quality of the battle Maps).

The better the overall game balance, the better and more challenging the AI behaviour. Overall game balance requires comprehensiveness. The MedMod is the most comprehensive.

Want proof? See how poorly the AI behaviour is in RTW? Well that shows how an inattention to balance can negatively effect AI behaviour.

Try the beta v.4 of the MedMod. If you do you will find the very best example of AI behaviour, both Battle and Campaign. Particularly Campaign!

For example, in this version----Alliances WORK!
AI use of Ships is simply the BEST to be found!

Note: v.4 is beta

Also, note, v4 is more challenging than v3.14, and is somewhat more difficult, for the novice and/or casual player, to comprehend and play.

While the posters comments may be his opinion, the basis for his opinion is not factually sound, in terms of the mods aim, nor the manner in which it achieves its aim.

BTW, if the historical is one's focus, then v.4 may be more to one's satisfaction, as the attention to historical detail (in terms of the Campaign map) is extensive. Personally, I find it somewhat annoying with all the historical names. Though, the *more* historical faction makeup to be VERY additive toward gameplay---VERY!



TS.

[Mithrandir]

Just an pre-emptive note,

don't get personal. Judge the MOD's (as descrived in my previous post), not the people who like or dislike them.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Hellenic Total War

[Graphic]

I tried HTW a few days ago. It's in the right direction but needs a little more polish. I experienced some graphical glitches and crashes. Still good though, love the Spartan Hoplites

[Alexanderofmacedon]

I love the history it accuratly portrays...