BI Extra Hordes and Unlocked Factions Mod'

[professorspatula]

Latest Version: 1.3 13th October 2005.

Hello.

One day I was a bit bored and had a bash at making a small mod for Barbarian Invasion. And a few days later I was still bored and updated it. And here it is:
BI Extra Hordes and Unlocked Playable Factions Mod. The title really rolls off you tongue...

Anyway, it is really a two part mod. First, it gives you the option to enable the Celtic, Alemanni and Saxon factions to form their own hordes, complete with new units and their own unit cards and sprites. That adds some extra spice to the campaign.

Secondly, it unlocks all the other factions in the game (including Slave/Rebels), apart from the Slavs, Roman Rebels (both) and Ostro-goths. I could probably unlock a few of them, but at the moment they're more interesting being left to cause trouble for everyone else later on in the campaign. All the new playable factions have their own campaign descriptions rubbishy prepared by myself after about half an hour's research on the web (if any history scholars out there want to provide better descriptions let me know). They also have campaign maps done in the style of the CA originals. See the screenshots below.

Oh, and there's also a few minor gameplay 'fixes' that I either stumbled upon or someone else told me about.

To get the mod, you'll first have to download version 1.3 . It's here:
http://www.disko.co.uk/files/bi_extr...tions_v1_3.zip

If you have an earlier version (v1.2, v1.21, or v1.22) download this patch to hopefully update it to version 1.3:
http://www.disko.co.uk/files/bi_extr...12x_to_v13.zip

Installing v1.3:
Unzip the v1.3 file into your RTW folder, making sure to read the readme file inside the zip that tells you to BACKUP your crucial files first. So don't blame me if anything untowards occurs as a result of installing the mod. I've given the mod a fair test and everything seems to work fine.

Updating v1.2, 1.21, or 1.22 to v1.3:
Unzip the patch into your RTW folder. Fingers crossed, everything now works. If you have modified any files since first installing my mod, those changes may be overwritten, so beware!

Just want Hordes?
If you don't want to change the hordes and just want the unlocked factions, you can basically leave the descr_sm_factions.txt file as it was originally, or read the instructions in the zip file for more info. As the extra hordes changes the dynamics of the campaign, you might for example wish to continue playing a campaign or two without them enabled. You can change the new hordes option during a campaign if you wish, although it might not be a good idea if you revert the original horde settings and one of the new horde factions is in horde mode already.

Here's some screenshots of the mod in 'action'. Thrilling stuff and all that!

The Alemanni tribes take to road! Those poor Western Empire Romans won't know what'll hit them.


That's some Alemanni horde hunters and Horde Chosen swordsmen having an arguement with some Sassanids over who's blue and red tunics are best.


More cretins to control!


The Lombardi faction, ready to cause trouble no doubt:


Version 1.2 added the Romano-British as a playable faction. The Romano-British campaign is optional. It is playable in a provincal campaign only, so that you can still play a regular campaign and have the Romano-British emerge on their own accord.

Their campaign is very hard, however. High troop income and only one settlement. You'll have the Celts and rebels at your door, and a fast diminishing treasury. Just pray you have your finances secure and your borders protected when the Saxons and West Empire Romans make a landing!




Any comments or problems with the mod, let me know.