Need help: BI or RTW 1.3 features?

[Monkwarrior]

Well, perhaps my confussion is due to the fact that I haven't still BI (nor the patch 1.3).
I've read a lot of things about the new features of the expansion and about the new problems for modders, but I'm not sure what you people are speaking about.

Which of those features and problems are particular to BI and which ones are common for BI and RTW 1.3?

One example: it is said that it is possible now to include new cultures (religions?) and change the assignation of the factions to those cultures. Is that true for RTW1.3?

Another example: horde factions. Are they possible for RTW 1.3? Perhaps I would envisaged this feature for factions such as scythia or numidia.

One more: are the problems with .hgt file only for BI or also for RTW1.3?

Last (but not least) for the moment: can victory conditions be changed in RTW1.3?

Sorry if these questions seem dumm , but I'm a little

[Stuie]

Which of those features and problems are particular to BI and which ones are common for BI and RTW 1.3?

One example: it is said that it is possible now to include new cultures (religions?) and change the assignation of the factions to those cultures. Is that true for RTW1.3?

Another example: horde factions. Are they possible for RTW 1.3? Perhaps I would envisaged this feature for factions such as scythia or numidia.

One more: are the problems with .hgt file only for BI or also for RTW1.3?

Last (but not least) for the moment: can victory conditions be changed in RTW1.3?

Sorry if these questions seem dumm , but I'm a little

Well, I can answer a few of these:

Cultures can be changed quite easily in both BI and 1.3. Religion is separate, and I'm not sure about adding it in 1.3 - haven't tried.

Not sure about horde in 1.3.

The .hgt problem is common to both versions (1.3 and BI).

Yes - victory conditions can be changed in 1.3, however there seem to be a limited field of possibilities, mostly around specific province ownership and number of provinces. Again, I really haven't played around with this yet, but the conditions are not looking as flexible as I would have liked. I might actually stick with some scripted victory conditions, supplemented by the new stuff provided by CA.

I know some modders are avoiding BI for now because of the various issues. My team is taking a slightly different approach, since we feel that the RTW community will overcome the map height issue. We have begun modding directly on BI (not bothering with the -mod: switch at this point as it seems very buggy). Once mapping is possible, I don't see any reason NOT to mod on BI as opposed to 1.2 or 1.3.

[Monkwarrior]

Thanks for the answer, Stuie.

I know some modders are avoiding BI for now because of the various issues. My team is taking a slightly different approach, since we feel that the RTW community will overcome the map height issue. We have begun modding directly on BI (not bothering with the -mod: switch at this point as it seems very buggy). Once mapping is possible, I don't see any reason NOT to mod on BI as opposed to 1.2 or 1.3.

This is the point I don't understand: if everything can work with BI, why the .exe is different for RTW 1.3 and BI? I remember that in MTW the expansion gave a single .exe file useful for both MTW (patched) and VI.
So, if patch 1.3 is finally released, a mod for RTW 1.3 will be of wider application, given that everybody (with or without BI) will have installed the patch in the computer. At least in my opinion.
This is the reason because I'm a little concerned about the differences between 1.3 and BI (1.4?).