During the 17th Century North America was still an untamed land, with beautiful rugged landscapes, primal forests and a bounty of natural resources. The colonial powers fought for what was not rightfully theirs, and the Native American tribes were forced to choose alliances or attempt a difficult resistance.

FAQ (work in progress)

Please post any other questions you want answered in this thread.

What version of Medieval 2 is ‘The Frontier’ for?
Kingdoms 1.3 and 1.4
What is the time period for ‘The Frontier’, and why was it chosen?
We have chosen 1655 as a starting date, whereby England and France are well established on the continent, but many native american tribes are still quite powerful. It will end in 1774, as colony uprisings (such as the American revolution) would require a huge amount of extra material and are not the focus of this modification. There will be 4 turns per year, resulting in a total of 476 turns.

Do you have a finalised faction list?
Factions are still work in progress and obviously we reserve the right to change it at any point in development, if we see a good reason to do so.

European: England, France, Spain, The Netherlands
Eastern Woodland: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Iroquois, Mohican, Shawnee, Sauk & Fox, and the Wabanaki Confederacy.
Plains Tribes: Cheyenne, Comanche, Crow, Osage, Pawnee, and Sioux.
Canadian and Subarctic: Cree, Montagnais, and the Three Fires Confederacy.
The Southwest: Apache, Navajo, and Pueblo.
MesoAmerica and the Caribbean: Carib, Miskito, and Maya.

What is the extent of the campaign map?
From the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, from the Labrador Peninsula to the Guyana Highlands.Check out the Map preview for screenshots.

What is your stance on historical accuracy?
The Frontier will be as historically accurate as possible, without going so far as negatively affecting the gameplay. A similar mindset to ‘Europa barbarorum’, or ‘Rome: Total Realism’.

Can you describe ways that Native Americans will be realistically represented?
Obviously there are limits to the engine, so certain ahistorical features will have to remain, such as having a capital City.

Along with the usual buildings, we will incorporate ‘traditions’ in the construction menu. These do not cost money but take a long time to establish in a province. Currently they are split into three categories- hunting, agriculture and fishing. Which categories your faction can invest time in depends on their culture group, so you won’t see native americans of the Great Plains with fishing traditions.



‘The Big Hunt’ is an example of a tradition, and will work like the Races or Games in RTW (it can take place yearly, monthly or weekly). Depending how frequently, it will give bonuses to public health and happiness. Another would be ‘tobacco cultivation’, giving happiness and trade, but negatively affecting public health.

The native american units will be small, cheap, and have an appropriately low armour rating. The benefits are a speed, a high melee attack, the ‘hide in tall grass’ trait, and terrain bonuses. We are also working on the possibility that they begin in ambush positions every time they attack an enemy army.

What about the Aztecs/Incas?
Both had been effectively destroyed in the previous century.

Weren't the Mayans destroyed as well?

Almost, two independant settlement remained until 1697 (Itza polity of Tayasal and the Ko'woj city of Zacpeten).

Will the Russians be included?

No, they will not. Russian settlement in Alaska is off the map and did not, at any rate, begin until 1784, ten years after the mod's end.