Mercenary modifications

[Redmeth]

I went for a slightly different approach:

1. Reduced the recruitment costs by 50% (but kept the same upkeep costs). This led to higher numbers of troops and consequently, the AI diversifies the troops created in the barracks. They create all kinds of troops (cavalry, missile,

2. Since costs are lower, I adjusted Redmeth's money script to give much less money to the AI, with extra help according to the number of cities. I also lowered the cap to 10.000 instead of 100.000

3. I give very little money assistance to the "slave" faction. This happens because the AI has a nasty tendency to waste small armies against well-protected cities.

4. I used MLP071's previous mercenary file, but replaced all values according to the following rule:
1) Increased 4 experience levels for every unit
2) Costs for units with experience level 4 are Base Value x 2,19
3) Costs for units with experience level 5 are Base Value x 2,67
4) Costs for units with experience level 6 are Base Value x 3,24
.

1. It's dangerous to mess with these as it can screw up game balance and halved is way too cheap IMO, we're trying to prevent stack parades right?

2. The cap is way too low some factions were rich and while the lower cap may work for the big ones (maybe) it clearly can stop the little guys. Just exterminating a city would take a small faction over the cap

3. The slave faction should be strong and a challenge, AI factions shouldn't blitz and expand at completely ahistorical rates, wasting small armies and even large ones is ok in my book

4.This I like, veterans should be available but really few and the high cost should simulate things like hiring a tribe's best men or a chieftain's bodyguard. Something along these lines.

Sorry to be a downer, but that's how I see things

[Watchman]

4.This I like veterans should be available but really few and the high cost should simulate things like hiring a tribe's best men or a chieftain's bodyguard. Something along these lines

Maybe this could be represented by having a rarely appearing and markedly more expensive higher-exp version on top of the standard merc unit entries ? Not everyone who heeded the drums and down-payment cash of the mercenary recruiter was a hardened veteran after all; but on the other hand amalgamations of crack "old hands" from disbanded formations and scattered armies, or simply experienced formations without a paymaster, would logically also be available every now and then.

[JMRC]

1. It's dangerous to mess with these as it can screw up game balance and halved is way too cheap IMO, we're trying to prevent stack parades right?

2. The cap is way too low some factions were rich and while the lower cap may work for the big ones (maybe) it clearly can stop the little guys. Just exterminating a cities would take a small faction over the cap

3. The slave faction should be strong and a challenge, AI factions shouldn't blitz and expand at completely ahistorical rates, wasting small armies and even large ones is ok in my book

4.This I like veterans should be available but really few and the high cost should simulate things like hiring a tribe's best men or a chieftain's bodyguard. Something along these lines

Sorry to be a downer, but that's how I see things

No prob. I'm just experimenting anyway.

However, I do realize that I'm after a little more of a challenge at the expense of some historical accuracy. In my last campaigns, I destroyed Epeiros and the Gauls in a few years (though the Gauls should remain powerful until Julius Caesar crush them, more than 200 years later, so there goes the historical accuracy...)

So, for me to face stack after stack of enemy troops is not bad, as long as I can recover my losses and keep making punitive raids into their territory to cripple their economy and military capacity. That's why I halved the recruitment cost, though I retained the upkeep cost: the AI keeps recruiting and I keep recovering.

I agree that the slave faction should be strong, but most of the time the AI is not clever enough to mass a force against a powerful city and instead it wastes its troops, keeping itself too weak to face my units later. More importantly, the AI doesn't replenish its forces. So, many times I'm facing a full stack of half-completed units. Also, the rebels in the cities tend to be much static, while if the cities belong to some faction, they move around. The fact that the AI doesn't know how to face a siege (few units in the walls and lots moving below the towers, waiting for the slaughter) leads to many boring siege battles.

As for the merc vets, the logic behind the upgrade to higher levels of experience is this: no employer would give 2x ou 3x the value of his house troops for an inexperienced band of mercenaries. Now, if they have experience 4, 5 or 6, it will compensate. In fact, they should not have a higher recruitment cost, but a much higher upkeep cost. However, this would lead to the problem that we are trying to avoid: too many mercenaries and few house troops around the campaign map. Since mercs now are very scarce (with MLP071's changes, at least they are worth the money).

As for the cap, I haven't had time to understand the implications, but I noticed that many times the AI just keeps the money in the "bank", waiting for an enemy to exterminate one of their cities and reap a fat reward. So, its better to let them have just enough to produce lots of troops.

For instance, in one of my experiences, Palmyra rebelled against the Seleucids and became a Saba territory for a long time, until the Seleucids could gather a large enough army to take it back. Nearer to the Baktrian border, another Seleucid province rebelled (remaining "slave") and again, the Seleucids took a lot of time until taking it back. And it happened because they were nearly bankrupt... if the cap was 100.000, they could build an army much faster.

[Redmeth]

As for the cap, I haven't had time to understand the implications, but I noticed that many times the AI just keeps the money in the "bank", waiting for an enemy to exterminate one of their cities and reap a fat reward. So, its better to let them have just enough to produce lots of troops..

There is no connection between the funds a faction has and the money you or any other factions gets from exterminating a city. The income received from exterminating is solely based, as far as I can tell, on city and thus number of people killed, the bigger and more populated the city is the more money you get. The money is not deducted from the faction the exterminated city belonged to.

[mlp071]

Concerns about mercenaries with very high lvl of exp is that AI will calculate battle outcome unrealistically, as it in case of general's stars.

I tested little bit with 3+ xp before and was creating havoc.That is , it will with addition of all mercs that i am slowly bringing back into the game.Higher prices are my way of representing their higher upkeep cost, otherwise i have to play with some other files, which can backfire since AI is looking into buying cost , not upkeep cost.Plus higher upkeep could cripple AI in making more of faction elites.

But i will play with that again , as soon i get to the point of optimal amount of mercenaries available.

Presently i am trying to balance their amount and respawn rate, which will be different between the regions (some will spawn faster, some slower) probably.
But thats for the future , as is their xp.

I would call that "fine tunning".

Fixing this file is really slow process, due to limitations of the game and small #'s of mercenary troop types available.

Plus , i can tell you honestly , DESCR_MERCENARIES is one of the buggiest files that i have encountered in this game.Add to many mercs or not enough and none will spawn in that region, just an example


I did mention moving cap, up or down . But as it is now , i don't see anything that needs to be redone in money scripts, they are just fine IMHO.

[mlp071]

This is test with new additional mercenaries, and i am pleased with outcome.


Changes were made to recruitment area, and some new units were added for recruitment.I did not create any new units, just used ones that were in files already. I tested all of them on battlefield also, as best i could , so there is no possible CTD .

Alot of times, you will not notice mercenary units in armies , since i tried to match mercenary units with geographical and AoR areas.If i made some mistakes , feel free to let me know here or message me.

Celtic first reform units, some of them, will be available for recruitment as mercenaries , but only post reforms(past 220BC).


This time factions expanded little faster then previous time. I was testing on VH/M with The Errant's script:





- Celts got their reforms and they were producing new units by 215 BC
- Romans got Polybian reform in 210 (didn't have Sicilian teritory for earlier). My spy found full stack of polybians near Arminium in 201 BC.
- Baktria, Sweboz and Qarthadastim are big powers,with couple of more pushing strong.
- Saka is only faction that is destroyed (213 BC)

Now, important things, AI was buying mercenaries in reasonable amount,when he needed units fast to fill in the holes in armies.

All factions had sizable armies that would be challenge for Human player , but there was no infinite stacks.






Example, Sweboz probably had 6-8+ stacks total in 200 BC when you put all units in the field togheter(not garrison ones). With almost 30 provinces they were capable of producing at least 1 stack/per turn.

Armies composition was quite realistic, meaning all factions had ratio between local levies and elites around 40/60% or 50/50%. Exceptions were Baktria and KH, they were fielding around 70% levies. Faction elite units started to show up around 245BC.


Also, armies were nicely shaped by regions where they were operating.I found these Romani and Qarthadast armies in Iberia:





It was same with Getai units in Asia Minor (they had Hoplitae, Akonistai...). Sweboz and Sauromatae were fighting in Baltic area using mix of their homeland troops and local baltic ones. Romani Legions in Gaul had Celtic levies and main romani units 40/60% ratio.

And btw , everyone is always broke

Will be runing one more test with Redmeth's script, in order to see what else can be improved by comparing these 2 tests.

I am posting other best faction armies that i run into bellow, and i appologize about this very long post :

[Redmeth]

You mention spies in your comments go in the /showme/ebbs script and search for "perfect_spy" remove the ";" from the start of the line and there you have it the perfect all-seeing eye of Mordor(tm) used for testing purposes only of course.
Very nice results truly encouraging love the steppe armies.

[The Errant]

Nice stacks. Some of those are scary too. Samnites and Perdites are some of the best Roman units during the Camillan era.
Love the Steppe stacks. Great unit composition. And a Koinon stack with siege engines, damn good. I almost never see the AI field those.
They all look balanced. Some are tougher than others, but the levy stacks are good too.

Very impressive work here mlp071.

I second Redmeth' on the perfect_spy command. For testing purposes the all seeing eye of Mordor is your best friend.