Downloads: Kingdoms Units for Grand Campaign (Addon for Retro

Kingdoms Units for Grand Campaign (Addon for Retrofit Mod 1.0)

* Read the Installation motes carefully! (Hopefully they aren't overly verbose...)


::: CONTENTS :::
- Overview
- Important Installation Notes
- Installation Steps
- (Necessary) Changes to the Units
- Future Updates
- Me
- Legal(?)

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::: OVERVIEW :::
This mod requires Medieval II Total War: Kingdoms and Retrofit Mod 1.0 (http://shoguntotalwar.yuku.com/topic/22609).

A couple of weeks ago Unspoken Knight released Retrofit Mod 1.0, which adds a number of features and improvements from Kingdoms to the vanilla Medieval 2 grand campaign. Since the Retrofit Mod does not include any of the new units from Kingdoms, which some people have asked for, I decided to work on an addon that would include them.

This mod adds new units from the Kingdoms expansion to the Retrofit Mod. It only adds the units from the factions that already exist in the grand campaign, namely, Byzantium, Egypt, Turks, Denmark, and Spain. It does not add any of the new factions or their units.

This mod was designed for the English version of the game. If you have already made other modifications to the Retrofit Mod, I can't guarantee this addon will work correctly.

The units added are:

Byzantium:
- Pronoia Infantry
- Byzantine Gunners
- Archontopoulai
- Alamanoi
- Greek Firethrower
- Mangonels

Egypt:
- Al-'Ashair Infantry
- Khasseki Infantry
- Dismounted Ghulam
- Al-Haqa Infantry
- Abid al-Shira
- Mamluk Handgunners
- Sibyan al-Khass
- Ghulam
- Mangonels

Turks:
- Ahdath
- Dismounted Hasham
- Turkish Crossbowmen
- Hasham
- Kurdish Auxiliaries
- Iqta'dar
- Mangonels

Denmark:
- Sami Axemen
- Gotland Footmen
- Svenner

Spain:
- Spanish Dragoons


If I have missed any of them, please let me know!



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::: IMPORTANT INSTALLATION NOTES :::

Because this mod adds a lot of content (models, skins, etc.) that is copyrighted by Creative Assembly, I couldn't just upload all of it like I would if I was adding original content. That wouldn't be legit. Instead what I've done is make is a batch file that will copy all of the necessary content from the Kingdoms campaign folders over to the Retrofit Mod folder. Also included in the installation zip are the data files that I manually altered to make the addon work (export_descr_unit.txt, battle_models.modeldb, etc.).

The big drawback to this method is that the installation requires you to unpack the pack files for three of the Kingdoms campaigns. This will take up about 3 gigabytes of disk space altogether. Lame, I know, but keep in mind that you can delete this unpacked data after you're done running the batch file. (I have written some notes below explaining how to delete the unpacked files.) So you'll need more than 3 gigabytes of free disk space to install this addon, but in the end this addon will only make the Retrofit Mod 158 megabytes bigger. (It starts out at 550 megabytes.)

[If you can think of a better way make this addon, let me know. I've tried using a method that uses the unpacker to unpack only the necessary files, but it's kind of a hassle, requiring you to click "y" and "Enter" about a two hundred times, since the unpacker asks for confirmation for use 3 times(!) whenever you run it.]


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::: INSTALLATION STEPS :::

1. Install the Kingdoms expansion.

2. Install Retrofit Mod 1.0 - http://shoguntotalwar.yuku.com/topic/22609

3. Unpack the data files for Americas, Crusades, and Teutonic campaigns.
- To do this, run these batch files in the 'tools\unpacker\' folder: unpack_americas.bat, unpack_crusades.bat, unpack_teutonic.bat.
- For more information on unpacking, see http://shoguntotalwar.yuku.com/topic/7248 or read the ReadMe.txt file in the tools\unpackers folder.
- To delete the unpacked files, refer to my notes below the installation steps. IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DELETE THE UNPACKED FILES, BE SURE TO DELETE THE data\descr_geography_new.txt AND data\descr_geography_new.db FILES, AS SPECIFIED IN tools\unpacker\ReadMe.txt. If you do not delete these, your Kingdoms campaigns will crash.

4. Unzip 'kingdoms_units_for_retrofit_1_0.zip' to the root Medieval 2 directory (usually 'C:\Program Files\SEGA\Medieval II Total War\').
- Some of the unzipped files will need to overwrite files in the 'retrofit' directory. Click 'Yes To All' when asked for confirmation.

5. Run install_kingdoms_units.bat (If you unzipped kingdoms_units_for_retrofit_1_0.zip in the right place, the .bat file should be in the same folder as medieval2.exe and kingdoms.exe.

--Installation Complete--
Run the Retrofit Mod the way you normally would, then see if you can play the new units!


To delete unpacked data files for the three Kingdoms campaigns:
The unpacker will have unpacked files to these folders: 'mods\americas\data', 'mods\crusades\data', and 'mods\teutonic\data'.
Inside each of these 'data' folders you can delete all the files and folders EXCEPT: 'animations', 'fmv', 'sounds', 'world'.
Just leave those 4 folders alone. If you delete them, you'll break the campaign.


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::: CHANGES TO THE UNITS :::

Here is a list of differences from the Kingdoms campaigns:

* As a necessity, certain unit requirements have been removed. For example, you don't need to be holding Constantinople to recruit Greek Firethrowers, Svenner don't require the Kalmar Union, etc. (The grand campaign doesn't support those conditions.)
* The new units cannot be hired as mercenaries. (This can be added in a future update.)
* Rebels cannot recruit the new units. (This can also be added in a future update.)
* The advice lady (does anyone actually use her?) will never recommend recruiting the new units, even though it might be a good idea. (I will never bother to add this.)
* New unit voice files have not been added. (For example, when you click on Greek Firethrowers they won't say "Ready!" like they do in the Crusades campaign. They will still say the old phrases like "Ready, Aim, Fire!") Adding this would have added extra installation complications for something that isn't necessary, and not that important in my opinion.
* I have made some corrections to the unit descriptions. (Text for Dismounted Hasham actually appears now! )
* You won't get points with the Swordsmiths Guild for recruiting Al-Haqa, Dismounted Ghulam, and Dismounted Hasham, like you do in the Crusades campaign. I was hoping to add this feature, but the weekend is now over and I don't have time. I might add this in a future update.


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::: FUTURE UPDATES :::

Aside from what is mentioned in the above section, I will probably make any fixes needed. I have done quite a bit of testing and haven't run in to any problems, but other players might find some.

Also, I've been thinking about making new Knight Order units available to factions that have the Order Chapterhouses. So if you're playing the HRE and you have the Teutonic Knights Chapterhouse in a settlement, you would be able to recruit the Ritterbruder and other new Teutonic order units. The same for St. John/Hospitaller Chapterhouse and Templar Chapterhouse. Feedback on this idea would be appreciated.


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::: ME :::

I'm just a player who's been playing Total War since Shogun. I've never uploaded any mods in the past or been involved in any major modifications. I've always made modifications for myself, but this is the first one I've made availble for other players. I'm posting it because I've seen several people ask for it, and I know some of the units are kind of a pain in the butt to get working (the greek firethrowers, to be specific).

Sorry this ReadMe is so long...

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::: LEGAL :::

I can't be held legally responsible if you manage to do any damage to any data or property as a result of using this mod.