Because there were no responses here since 03/2006, I suppose this project has long since passed away.

Anyway I would like to open it anew, because with the all the new units in EB 1.0, in the East in particular, it might be possible to create a "quick mod" in the sense of a "Prelude to EB, 360 BC to 260 BC". That is by useing the units and buildings that are allready in EB assinging new the territories and changeing some of the factions.


Ok, we have five free faction slots:
AS
Ptolemaians
Baktria
Pontos
Armenia

One of these will become the Persians, that means that four new factions can make it in. Let's see what's left:

Casse (unchanged)
Sweboz (unchanged)
Lusotannians (unchanged)
Carthage (unchanged/according to 360 BC territories)
Epiros (-Taras)
Makedonia (Pella only)

Arverni/Aedui: I think it would be better to have one faction in Gaul onyl (may be the Bituriges in Avaricum) and get an Italo-Celtic faction in instead. That should be one the tribes who settled in and around Mediolanum.

Italy: Rome is Latium only. Her enemies are the Etruscans and the Samnite. Of these I would like to make Etruscans Eleutheroi for three reasons:

1st We don't have any decent factional units for them and have to borrow units from other factions.

2nd When Rome is sandwiched with one town between two hostile factions, they won't make it out of the first 10 turns if controlled by the AI

3rd A rebell central Italy might encourage the Italian Celts to expand in that direction.

The Samnite will be the first faction to make in. The Roman unit stock can be divded between them with the Leves, Hastati, Principes, Triarii, both Extraordinarii and Equites for Northern Italy, and the Accensi, Rorari, Campanians and both Samnite for Southern Italy. Recruitable for both and extended to all EB 1.0 Roman homelands (there will be no reforms for the Romans, the game starts short after Camillus' death and ends long before the Polybian periode).


Greece I think there should be a second Greek faction (Thessaly? Sparte?) allied with KH and/or either Thessaly or Sparte Eleutheroi. That will make it easyer for a Makedonian player to get Greece under controll, since he is espected to steamroll Persia in the first place.

Balkans: May be switching Getai for Thracia would be an idea, or getting Thracia in as a new faction? That could prevent an AI Persia from expanding into Europe as long as Makedonia is still busy with the Greeks.

East: That is more or less completly Persian. An Indian faction would be debatable to distracted the Persian a little.


Others: Syracusae would be good to prevent the Samnite from running for those rebell towns in the south instead of fighting Rome. Either Scythia or the Bosporian Greeks could be an idea to hinder Persian expansion in that direction. Something along the Danube or the Baltics would be fine, but this sub-mod is very much focused on Makedonia and the Eastern Mediterranian, so spending a slot for NW-Europe is not good.


Units: Pretty much of the units of EB can be used for this earlyer periode, too, especially since the mod is streching into the starting periode of EB. I think, none of the units that are to be have by reforms in EB should make it in. Others can be made available by new reforms, or, like some of the successor units, become Makedonian units recuruitable on Persian territory.


The worst problem would be of course (apart from all the text editing), how to prevent Persia from overruning everyone else?

What do you think?