EDU Rebalance Mod
I am posting this with no small amount of trepidation because I am unsure of how it will be received.
The purpose of this mod grew out of my own desire to tweak the EB EDU, from modifying a dozen or so units to, eventually, most of the unit roster. Only the ships, and a dozen or so other units, have been left untouched. I have modded unit stats before, privately, for Shogun 2 and Medieval 2, but the unit roster of EB is...extensive. If my Steam log is to be believed, I have put well over 200 hours of tweaking and testing into this release: I am telling you all this to show this is not some hasty, highly personal rebalance. This mod reflects some of my personal preferences, yes, but I have read extensively (mostly unit descriptions) and, perhaps more importantly, become highly familiar with how the person or persons behind the EDU constructed it for EB. There are patterns; there are rules (that may be bent occasionally). There are also what I perceive as flaws, intentional or not.
To the EB team: thank you. I have learned so much, both about modding and about history, and having done this I appreciate a small part of the gargantuan task you continue to devote yourselves to and the significance of your achievement. This mod is best used with Jirisys' Mega Mod Pack for Alexander, and to a large extent he prompted me to attempt this: as soon as I downloaded his mod I was 'back into it', so to speak. He covered a lot of ground, and I too felt that I could make a contribution. This is the result. Also, to whoever made this unit list: thank you, it made my work much easier.
So, what has changed?
The primary purpose of this mod was to rebalance armour values. There were many units described as having 'no armor' whatsoever, yet in the EDU a value of 1 or more could be seen. I'm sure the EB members behind it had their reasons, but I wanted a new system, one that followed a ruleset:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The above list functions as a 'rule of thumb', that and innumerable unit descriptions were what I used to tweak armour values. It looks simple but it took a while to hammer out, and I've probably made some errors here or there in implementing it; there are many difficulties, many subjective decisions made, and more than once I deferred to the EB team's judgement when it was too close for me to call. I have tested and reviewed my work thoroughly to iron out the flaws of implementation as much as I can. Some considered feedback on my decisions would be welcome.
The results were mainly minor tweaks: very few units had to be changed significantly, and those that lost armour points often made up for them (entirely or in part) with a bonus to defense skill. It snowballed from there. Unit size, morale, terrain bonuses, attack values etc. Small changes were made where I deemed necessary, but always with reference to my source material, and with an eye on gameplay effects. Another significant change was to javelin and arrow ammunition levels:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Before, for example, a standard unit of horse archers could have significantly more arrows than an elite horse archer unit: perhaps this was due to the size of their respective quivers, either way, there was not enough information in unit descriptions or by observing the unit in-game to determine precise ammunition levels. As a result I opted, again, for a ruleset in multiples of a dozen or half-dozen. I also wanted archery units to fire for longer, and only join the melee towards its end, if at all. Horse archers, combined with the lessened armour values for many light infantry units, are more deadly as a result.
Javelins were much simpler: for the most part, what you see is what you get. If a skirmisher has one in his hand and two with his shield, that is his ammunition level. Some skirmishers are not modeled holding javelins, in which case they receive the standard three javelin load. Only the Cidainh and Armored Indian Elephants escape this limit. Units that hurl javelins before a melee are now universally reduced to two javelins, to lesson the impact of the 'prec' bug explained by me in a previous thread. In game, I found that javelin equipped skirmishers acted less like light infantry/cavalry and more like psuedo-archers: hanging back to hurl 6 or more volleys of javelins and only joining the melee very late into the battle, and I wanted to change that. They soon deplete their ammunition and join the battle: you will have to watch out for more encirclements and harassment now. This has a side effect of making elephants more dangerous, as they should be, but still quite manageable for a human player.
Another significant change is the reintroduction of the 'spear' attribute for some units. It is all but unused in EB, but it has significant gameplay effects. All spear units with a 'powerful charge' (AFAIK > 6/7) now have the 'spear' attribute. They are mainly, but not exclusively, veteran or elite units. It "gives default bonus of +8 to attack vs cavalry, and penalty of -4 to attack vs. infantry." - The Complete EDU Guide. So while some units will be able to 'push' and disrupt formations of infantry, even breaking them at times, they will not be scything through them; cavalry is a different matter. For an illustration of its impact, in one test battle a unit of Keltohellenikoi Hoplitai attacked a slightly weakened Polybian Hastati unit: eventually they had disrupted the Hastati's formation to such an extent they broke (but were not decimated, they later rallied). Battles are now a bit more chaotic and unpredictable when these units are present.
Traditional Hoplitai units have been given the 'short_pike' and 'spear' attributes, but not in the way implemented by TWFanatic or Jirisys: they retain their 'original' stats, with a slight bonus to charge, and with all the advantages the new attributes bring. Units like Hypaspistai also retain their dual weapon systems. No offense to either intended: I simply preferred to work off the EB team's values. Pike units have also received the 'spear' attribute, with the exception of some 'levy' units; similarly, levy Hoplitai retain their 'light_spear'. These units can hold a line, but not break one.
Most of the tweaks are done 'under the hood' and similar or identical-looking units may actually be different in subtle ways. I have included a full changelog, but be warned it is haphazard: this was an unorganised development, after all. Also, every unit listed is done so by their name in the EDU, which may or may not correspond to what you know them as in-game. Discovering precisely which entry corresponded to each unit caused a significant amount of frustration at times, even with the help of the above list on the internet. Probably the best way to view the changes is by playing your favourite faction in a custom MP battle and seeing what's different.
Other changes of note:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Install Guide:
- WARNING: This mod adjusts the export_descr_unit (EDU, SP+MP), export_descr_building (EDB), descr_model_battle (DMB) and the EBBS_SCRIPT. All except the script are located in the EB/Data folder, the script is located in EB/Data/scripts/show_me. I am unsure if this is compatible with the Barbarian Invasion expansion as I have never used it.
- Do a clean install of EB 1.2 after installing and patching Rome: Total War.
- Unrar the archive in the main Rome directory eg. C:\Program Files\Rome: Total War
- It will ask you to overwrite some files: accept, but not before you back up the important files listed in the warning above! This is to ensure you can reverse the changes. Without the appropriate text files, the game doesn't utilize different resources.
- Inside the EB folder, copy either the SP EDU or the MP EDU into the Data folder and overwrite: I recommend testing each one to ensure there are no unexpected errors.
- To implement Optional restorations, copy the appropriate 'EB' folder from the 'Rebalance-Optional' folder and paste it to the main Rome directory, overwriting as necessary.
- Play! If there are errors: post!
For Jirisys Compatibility:
- Follow the above list, installing Jirisys' mod after the clean install of EB 1.2. Please note there are two versions: one for Jirisys' Alexander release and one for his RTW release.
- WARNING: ensure you back up the files 'ebgermanic_skandza_habuko_alin_stefan25_high.cas' & 'ebmodel_african_infantry_garamantines_HIGH.cas' (EB/Data/models_unit) along with the above files. As noted above, this is because Jirisys' mod uses different models to fix a well known glitch with them.
For City Mod/Spoils of Victory Compatibility:
No special installation required, as they come bundled! (See below)
- WARNING: The City Mod releases modify, in addition to the above, the map.rvm (EB/sp game edu backup); descr_cultures (EB/Data); descr_regions, map.rvm (EB/Data/world/maps/base); and campaign_script, descr_strat (EB/Data/world/maps/campaign/imperial_campaign) files.
- WARNING: The Spoils of Victory releases modify, in addition to the above, export_descr_character_traits, export_descr_VnVs_enums (EB/Data); export_VnVs (EB/Data/text); and EBBS_SCRIPT (EB/Data/scripts/show_me) files.
- Please back up the above files to ensure you can reverse the changes; this is critical for the Spoils of Victory releases because as noted below they are NOT save game compatible!
To uninstall:
Overwrite the files installed with your backups; this will not remove unused files, but I have no knowledge of how to make an installer so you'll have to remove them manually if you want it completely gone, sorry!
I think that's everything. This is my first release of this size and complexity, so I hope things are working as intended: if they're not, post.
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Version 1.01
Apologies to auboy105 and anyone else who has tried to use the optional compatibility with Jirisys' mod: I forgot to add the DS models and unit cards, an oversight on my part. I also took the opportunity to fix up some other things which I noticed after the initial release:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Version 1.02
A special thank you to auboy105 for providing much needed feedback. I am cautiously optimistic, everything should work now as I tested each version and everything loaded fine. Changes:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
A series of very unusual errors: after overwriting each entry with the MP version (and ensuring ownership was appropriate) it worked fine. Really strange, but easily fixed with some patience.
Version 1.03
I noticed how foot missile, artillery crews and some skirmishing units seemed to be overpowered, considering they were supposed to be 'cut to pieces' by more professional troops and cavalry. In this version, I set out to change that by reducing their melee attack values and decided, once again, to turn to a ruleset to bring some manner of impartiality to the process:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The results are simple enough: no longer will your professional troops take considerable casualties from such units, and will make short work of them as they should. Caution would still serve best with medium and light cavalry against unbroken units, however, as they are still vulnerable in a melee, though to a lesser degree than before. Changes below:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The patch can be downloaded from the attachments below. There are two versions: one for Jirisys' Alexander release, and one for everything else. Just extract and overwrite, and remember to copy either the MP or SP EDU to your EB/Data folder. Nice and simple. The patch is save game compatible, but I'm unsure if it will affect currently existing units or just newly trained ones, and there will obviously be a stat discrepancy if the latter is the case.
Version 1.04
To those paying attention, no, I'm not dead. That said, this will probably be the final update. I'm making good on my ramblings at the bottom of this page concerning javelin loadouts and fears that nerfing the ranged units attacks have ensured the AI has even more reason not to use them. I have no idea if this is actually the case beyond my limited experience in a test campaign, but if it's true I should fix it. So, this version follows on from the previous in format. Two versions (one Jirisys, one other), and it installs the same way as above.
I've decided to leave the v1.03 changes intact in the multiplayer EDU, while keeping them out of the singleplayer, and ensuring both have the javelin changes. Units which previously only had three, not two as I mistakenly said below, javelins now have four. There are a few exceptions, like Cidainh getting another 3 because they're terrible in melee, but most regular skirmishers just get one more. Of course, all of this is optional (and save game compatible), so the new version has simply been added to the list below for those interested. Thanks again to all of those who've downloaded, and hopefully enjoyed, my mod. I'll still check the thread every now and then as I usually do, and respond to any problems.
Old announcements:Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
If anyone is confused about the various editions don't hesitate to ask, and as always any further feedback is appreciated!
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