DUX: a VI MP enhancement mod

[L'Impresario]

DUX: a VI MP enhancement mod
Created by [VDM]Alexandros_R & [VDM]BuuKenshin

OVERVIEW

The DUX mod is a relatively small project by me (Alexandros) and BuuKenshin of clan VDM,
whose initial concept had been just to provide a set of stats for the very successful BKB Supermod. No major gameplay or stat changes were planned, only a relatively playable format for a multiplayer setting, as the initial prices were presenting a big obstacle to balance.
Gradually interest for VI MP diminished, while mods such as the Samurai Wars one, were more than adequate to provide a different and quite more interesting than “vanilla” VI game. Unfortunately (well, at least from one point of view), the 1.2 RTW patch rekindled some (short-lived) interest for some VI players, so a further setback was noted, one that brought mod games in the VI lobby to 0, ofcourse with the remarkable exception of NTW.
As gameplay and armies were becoming once more repetitive (as far as normal10-15k games go),the CWC “Knights of Honour” tournament rules were conceived and became the norm among the group of 50-60 regular VI players, with occasional 10k games still making an appearance. Still, many players (and among them yours truly) while admitting that they offered more balance and promoted more varied armies, the rules were promoting the same heavy cavalry overuse, esp. in team games, and exploits could be found, ofcourse to a lesser extent than in VI. It also proved hard to provide some kind of intuitive gameplay, due to deceiving prices.
Not having any other ambition than to save my opponents from the time-consuming of randomly building an interesting army by using even remotely useful units, we started formulating the DUX mod, using a variety of ideas and personal observations made by playing a host of other mods during those last 2 years, namely the “Community Mod”, “La Reconquista”, our own [VDM]Ein’s “V202”, the “Samurai Wars” and combining them with the huge amount of work put in the SuperMod’s technical area. Most solutions provided to real or perceived issues of VI do use many already known and recognisable patterns.
Recognising the difficulty of getting players to play any mod, this one was made in order to be used by the same people who could actually enjoy games around or a bit lower than 7k VI, with the relatively limited amount of players active working as a positive factor for distribution purposes.


MOD FEATURES

-More Balanced Gameplay : By using the “zero upgrades” approach and prices being increments of 100, a much greater number of units could be balanced and denote clearly a distinct “rock-paper-scissors” system, with a few subcategories among them, serving specialised battle tasks. As ChivalricKnights(AT5–DEF5–MRL8–CH9) cost 1200 and can rout a FeudalMenAtArms(AT3-DEF4-MRL5-CH3) costing 600 unit head-on in little time if allowed a clear charge -if not instantly-, one will be forced to invest either in equally expensive cav to stop the CK, or substitute that FMAA with 500 florins FeudalSergeants or 700 fl. ChivalricSergeants, both fuly capable of stopping a charge by one of the strongest cavalry units in the mod. It is of value here to note that most VI units keep their original stats, at least in CH,AT,DEF. Morale though is a very important gameplay factor, therefore much thought was given at the formula that would offer a more intense feeling in combat than 10k but not very unpredictable and hard to learn. So normal combat units have around 5-6 morale, with lower quality ones or just those suited specifically for harassing or skirmishing getting down even to 3. Spears right now do have comparable morale with swords so in a straighforward attack with FMAA or CMAA against a solid spear line of good,steady ( worth 700+ florins) units, there are high chances that ,unless an external factor comes into play, the spears will keep the swords occupied for a long time with high casualties for both sides. But usually if swords are used in wedge or manage to envelop at least one side, the spears won’t be holding for long. A boost to heavy cavalry charges is another incentive not to depend too much on one type of arm and will also cater to the tastes of those who believed that charges were too weak in VI: just wait till you see the results of a charge from the elite crusader cavalry.

-More Options : 13 new factions and a complete lifting to the old ones. BKB’s work allows us to offer a breathtaking amount of new units (over 70), all used to provide the player with more customisation options and allow room for an amazing number of army combinations.

-Simpler Army-building Process : What you see is what you get; even if you choose units without knowing their exact stats , you will stand a chance against any enemy, simply because you don’t need to memorise the standard armies and each unit’s required upgrades, or fear any type of rush armies. If you play prudently, chances are that you’ll be rewarded, as mistakes allowed in 10k VI will be punished to a greater extent, due to the new morale scale.

-A Reasonable Amount of Historical Accuracy : The mod covers approximately the period between 1180 and 1320. Efforts were made to maintain a realistic army selection for each faction, without sacrifising possibly interesting gameplay additions. Some units have less historical backing than others, but a certain degree of abstractions was necessary, as the game engine can’t offer things like multiple melee or missile weapons, area fire, parthian shots etc. Still we believe that the factions in the DUX mod are diverse and unique in many ways, letting the player field a believable army, without an excessive number of “elite” units.

-Lots of Tweaks : The vast number of small changes can't be detailed here, although it’s imperative to highlight the inclusion of concepts like:
a)“mercenary/rare units” (as in the additional 100 florins a faction can pay in order to have a few premium, usually mercenary, units that enhance its fighting style- eg the Byzantines have a pool of elite steppe units ,and even western knights, that can be employed with an extra cost)
b)the 3 “A”s : Ammo/Accuracy/Armour differentiation (the quality of missile units is represented by the number of ammo,their accuracy level and armour/shield, removing unbalancing factors like the longbow’s extra range)
c) Speed tweaking (slow infantry units no longer crawl behind the others when walking, fast light cavalry gets a small boost to their charging speed in order to help them fullfil their HA chasing duties etc)
d)Reduced defence stats for the basic missile units versus cavalry, so as to promote a more intense skirmishing phase, but not sufficient to give an edge to rush armies.
e)Different sizes for the same unit types (Golden Horde specific, allows 60-men Horse Archers and Mongol Horse Archers Units to be fielded)
…and many others!

-Regular Updates : After a number of games, we might consider some changes for balance purposes, and player feedback will guide any future finetuning.

-No second VI-install needed : By installing the Dux mod, the Generic Mod Enabler by JoneSoft contained within allows you to switch from VI mode to Dux mode easily and safely. If you wish to uninstall the Dux mod, simply delete the MODS folder inside the main MTW/VI folder (usually C:\Program Files\Total War\Medieval - Total War).

- A custom music pack to be downloaded seperately, created by Silent-Faust

Please remember that the mod is created for play at a certain amount of florins per player, namely 10.000.


Additional information and the credits are to be found in the README file!

Many thanks to TosaInu for kindly accepting to host the mod!

Also to Adherbal for finding us an extra host (and maybe being willing to host the music pack when it gets some set-up instructions;))

Last but not least, we should not forget to mention Phoinix_Mas' contributions to the mod, like the logo and the new unit graphics. We are glad to have you onboard:)

LOG
5/3/06: Version 0.4 released


LINKS
---New Version (0.4)
http://mizus.com/dux

---Older Versions
http://www.mizus.com/Files/k0rgs8gVt...Dux0.2beta.zip
http://www.thegregersens.com/TempFiles/Dux0.2beta.zip
http://tosainu.demon.nl/files/files/...Dux0.2beta.zip
http://rapidshare.de/files/9381119/Dux0.2beta.zip.html
http://www.3ddownloads.com/totalwar/...Dux0.2beta.zip

MUSIC
http://mizus.com/duxmusic

SITE
http://dux.atspace.com/index.html (Under Construction)

FORUM
http://p209.ezboard.com/fclanofvalidusduxmundusfrm21

Currently organising this one as well: http://dux.forumfree.org/index.php?&act=idx

http:\\mizus.com\infodux