**PRO DEO ET REGE v0.3A BETA FEEDBACK AND DISCUSSIOn**

[Socal_infidel]

Thanks for all the feedback folks. Keep it coming. Positive/Negative. Your mod sucks and it's a complete waste of my time. Fine. But how could it be better? That type of thing.

Thanks to finneys13 initial feedback, I've attached a revised descr_strat file to the main post. Increased the starting money and kings purse for all factions. And toned down the rebel garrisons somewhat. And gave Scotland auxiliary stables in both settlements and a port.

To Do List for Sunday:

1. Properly include the latest CNP 3.0 names and titles.
2. Ensure that all faction's starting settlements begin with at least the auxiliary levy recruitment buildings.
3. Balance the economy more.

Well, I'm off the grid for awhile. Heading upstate for an overnight stay. I'll post an update Sunday night with the changes listed above hopefully and anything else people think needs improving. Thanks all!

[Pelican Man]

one last quick question Socal,

Can rebels move freely, attack, and build troops?? need to know.

Thanks again... I'll be testing it out this week. wow the wife will definitely be mad. lol

THE P-MAN


EDIT: well, I answered my own question reading the first post.

please disregard that question and leave for your vaca so people like me don't bother ya!

thanx

The P-MAN

[finneys13]

Since you volunteered, do you think I should add dismounted mailed knights to the Scottish faction? Right now, I've not done so as their infantry is pretty strong as is.

No, no need with their infantry, would be overkill.

Also, any suggestions on initial army composition. Highlanders and Border Horses fine, or should I add a unit or two of Highland Archers?

Add a few archers as well, mixed armies are better, also maybe make less border horses in Inverness, as there are from the borders.

Just took Inverness with an army of elephant rocketeers. Did I see the general, not a captain, being an infantry man with no special suit of armour?

[Gordon Freynman]

I was sold when I saw "Area of Recruitment"

Downloading now....

[Socal_infidel]

one last quick question Socal,

Can rebels move freely, attack, and build troops?? need to know.

Thanks again... I'll be testing it out this week. wow the wife will definitely be mad. lol

THE P-MAN

I haven't been able to figure out how to get them to attack cities/castles yet. But they definitely recruit/retrain and construct buildings.

They're a known area that I need to look into further.

And yeah, my girlfriend keep calling me and asking why I'm not upstate yet! So I better get a move on. I'll have limited access to a computer there (a Mac the bane of gamers at that!), but I'll check this thread a few times.

But definitely use the descr_strat file attached to end of first post. Finneys13 pointed out that initial money was limited and led to stagnation so I spread the wealth all around!

Pleas post any feedback (when your wife's not looking)! Cheers!

[Socal_infidel]

Just took Inverness with an army of elephant rocketeers. Did I see the general, not a captain, being an infantry man with no special suit of armour?

You may have, if you don't assign the Generals Bodyguard unit to a named character (which all rebel provinces have), then their Bodyguard is whatever is the first unit listed.

[Icefrisco]

Im downloading right now. This looks really good! I will give try and give some feedback. From the looks of this mod I think all the feedback will be positive!

[Socal_infidel]

Im downloading right now. This looks really good! I will give try and give some feedback. From the looks of this mod I think all the feedback will be positive!

Thanks just be sure to drop the descr_strat file attached to the first post into your imperial campaign folder. I increased the money due to finneys13 suggestion..

And to all...the game is meant to be a challenge not a blitz-fest...but that said, let me know if you think it stagnates. There's only so much auto-run campaigns can tell you. So if it seems to grind to a halt, let me know if it's the economy, cost of buildings, upkeep costs and I'll look into it. I want it to be playable first and foremost. I don't want the playable factions to become the "Lesser Factions."

Cheers all!

[Icefrisco]

does this use 1.2 or 1.1 patch?

[Socal_infidel]

does this use 1.2 or 1.1 patch?

1.2

[Icefrisco]

Nice job! This is by far one of the best mods out there. I only played as Byzantines and Genoa so heres what I thought of each:

Byzantines: Excellent! The AOR system works great for them. I like the new cities you added and all the city names are accurate.

Genoa: Nice! The AOR system doesnt affect them too much but I like how you re-did milan completely. There only thing is there isnt another city in Liguria so Genoa is a little too secure at first. But thats only very minor so in general Genoa seems really fun.

[Socal_infidel]

UPDATE PRO DEO ET REGE v0.1A!

Sorry the initial beta release of the mod was a tad on the difficult side. I’ve tweaked a few things here and there to get the early-game economy going a little better. And I’ve slightly reduced the rebel garrisons all around. If you have any feedback, please share it! Thanks!

You can download the tweaks here:

PDER_Update_0.1A.rar

Installation:

To install this update, simply extract this .rar file to your SEGA\Medieval II Total War\PDER_v.0.1_Beta\folder.

The files contained maintain the following folder structures:

data\descr_names.txt
data\settlement_mechanics.xmls
data\text\names.txt
data\text\expanded.txt
data\world\maps\campaign\imperial_campaign\descr_strat.txt
data\world\maps\campaign\imperial_campaign\campaign_script.txt

Changelog v0.1A:

·Increased King's Purse and Starting Treasury for all factions
·Revised starting buildings in settlements. All factions now begin with at least the second-level auxiliary buildings for each possible military complex found in their starting settlements (i.e. aux_bowyer, aux_stables, aux_barracks)
·Finished integrating the complete version of the Character Names Project 3.0
·Slightly increased income from farming, trade, and taxes

COMING SOON!

Look forward to a new version coming soon featuring the fantastic work of these modders!

Joedreck’s Kings Banners
Disgruntled Goat's One Faction at A Time Project's Byzantine Reskins
Hephaistos' Naval VnV Add-On

And more!

[ENSAIS]

Here are my comments after playing for 30 or so turns as Scottland, then as England:

1) in BOTH short campaigns Portugal died out as a faction in the first 10 turns.

2) My Scottish heir betrayed me and defected in 10 turns while in Ireland about to lay seige (a nobles mission, no less)

3) I was really happy about general's units being only 15--not panzers anymore. Unfortunately family members are usually 32-38 (judging by England and Scottland so far) for huge which is still pretty high. I'd like to use them *some* in battle to gain shevrons and traits, maybe this is ok.

4) I have some confusion about what units in a castle are free upkeep. So far only men-at-arms, though I can recruit 7 different unit types btwn cav, missle, and foot.

5) All non-family generals start with 0 command, 0 loyalty, 0 piety.... ripe for defection. Even family members seem a little low (see 2, above).

6) Probably a BBB thing (though I LOVE BBB) but after 15 @ battles, no increase in stars for any of my family members in either campaign.

7) I have confusion about the building tree. Why would I build a higher barracks as so much construction time/ cost when a lower one gives me all the same units (only some seem to give +1 exp or something). What exactly is the point of higher barracks, or each building in general?
- I like the AOR idea, and the ERAs idea, but I find the execution a little confusing

8) I love that Welsh Spearmen and Welsh Longbowmen were only recruitable in Whales (right?). Coool AOR, Welsh Longbowmen can deploy stakes, and attack 6 (vs Peasant Archer 5), but defend 2 (vs Peasant archer 4-5 depending on early armor upgrade). but that brings up...

9) Faction-specific rosters. I saw lots of highland stuff for Scottland. Ok. But nothing really English. No billmen, no longbows, no English Cav. Maybe that comes later?

So... thanks a ton. Hope the feedback helps. look foward to hearing from you and seeing this progress farther!

-ENSAIS

[Socal_infidel]

Here are my comments after playing for 30 or so turns as Scottland, then as England:

1) in BOTH short campaigns Portugal died out as a faction in the first 10 turns.

I may need to beef them up or start them out with Coimbra, as well to give them a fighting chance. But in some auto-runs I've seen them give Spain a run for their money in Iberia.

2) My Scottish heir betrayed me and defected in 10 turns while in Ireland about to lay seige (a nobles mission, no less).

The noble rebellion stuff is from BBB. Could look into toning it down. In fact, I did tone it down for AI as I was seeing the middle east factions dying out early in some test campaigns due to rebellious generals.

3) I was really happy about general's units being only 15--not panzers anymore. Unfortunately family members are usually 32-38 (judging by England and Scottland so far) for huge which is still pretty high. I'd like to use them *some* in battle to gain shevrons and traits, maybe this is ok.

Yeah, I haven't figured out how to limit the size of the family member's bodyguard. For now, I just say to myself, well these guys are the heirs and faction leaders. They would have a bigger entourage, no? Especially in battle. I know that if I were an heir, I'd make sure to take as many men with me in battle.

4) I have some confusion about what units in a castle are free upkeep. So far only men-at-arms, though I can recruit 7 different unit types btwn cav, missle, and foot.

In castle, the Knight's retainers (sergeant spearmen, armoured sergeants and Feuedal sergeants) are free upkeep. Decided against giving Knights free upkeep as that seemed a tad too much.

5) All non-family generals start with 0 command, 0 loyalty, 0 piety.... ripe for defection. Even family members seem a little low (see 2, above).

Yeah, as I've added named character generals to ALL starting settlements, we're talking about a LOT of named characters. I've not gone about giving them initial loyalty, piety boosts and some traits yet. But it's in the works. I want to make them all a little unique and not just Loyalty Starter 1, Piety Starter 1, etc. I'll try to include with next release.

6) Probably a BBB thing (though I LOVE BBB) but after 15 @ battles, no increase in stars for any of my family members in either campaign.

I'll look into the triggers for the command system.

7) I have confusion about the building tree. Why would I build a higher barracks as so much construction time/ cost when a lower one gives me all the same units (only some seem to give +1 exp or something). What exactly is the point of higher barracks, or each building in general?
- I like the AOR idea, and the ERAs idea, but I find the execution a little confusing

I intend to release a chart with the next release of how the era system and aor system works. Basically, I tried to make the recruitment of units a progression with each military building.

So first level faction-own barracks gives you sergeant spearmen, next level gives you armoured sergeants, dis. mailed knights, next level dis. feudal knights and feudal sergeants.

But as I did utilize tornnight's era system (which I really personally enjoy), the units do not show up as recruitable in the building browser barracks description until the specific era has arrived (which is announced by the Old Monk at the beginning of the turn) making them available. Rest assured building each building is worthwhile, it's just that the era system doesn't show them as recruitable until the era event has triggered.

So if you gave yourself 400000K florins and process_cq'd all the military buildings in a castle settlement at the start, you'd stil find that the Armoury only shows you being able to recruit Sergeant Spearmen. You'll have to wait for the era events to get the new units.

I like it as it gives you a chance to really spend some time fighting with each type of Army for awhile.

8) I love that Welsh Spearmen and Welsh Longbowmen were only recruitable in Whales (right?). Coool AOR, Welsh Longbowmen can deploy stakes, and attack 6 (vs Peasant Archer 5), but defend 2 (vs Peasant archer 4-5 depending on early armor upgrade). but that brings up...

9) Faction-specific rosters. I saw lots of highland stuff for Scottland. Ok. But nothing really English. No billmen, no longbows, no English Cav. Maybe that comes later?

See above. Yeah, a lot of units don't show as recruitable on building browser until era kicks in. As Scotland's early roster is protected by basic armour, you're seeing most of their more colorful faction roster units early.

As far as longbowmen are concerned, I'm not pleased that England has to wait as long as they to do to be able to recruit their bread and butter unit. So I'm either going A) to remove the era event linking their recruitment or B) create a trigger that allows them to recruit them once they take a settlement in Wales (which makes more sense to me and gives you added incentive to try to take Wales). I'm pretty sure B) can be done through scripting.

Thank you so much for all the feedback. I really appreciate it. So yeah, I just released a small patch of sorts last night to get the early game economy going a little better.

I plan on the next release sometime this weekend. I want to include DG' Byzantine reskins and Joedreck's King Banners with it and some other fixes.

Cheers!

[finneys13]

Two quick things about the new version

1) Names, some faction families still haven't got any surnames, without surnames, the whole faction tree will just be single names, not ideal. Also I noticed not all the faction leader and heir titles have the right grammar, the Turkish heir anyway doesn't

2) Rebellious generals/cities. All games I have played, Egypt is up against to not fall apart from rebellious cities, and I just noticed the Pope being kicked from Rome by rebels.

[ENSAIS]

THe pope getting kicked out of ROme by rebels?! That is TOOO awesome! LOL

[Socal_infidel]

Two quick things about the new version

1) Names, some faction families still haven't got any surnames, without surnames, the whole faction tree will just be single names, not ideal. Also I noticed not all the faction leader and heir titles have the right grammar, the Turkish heir anyway doesn't

Known issues. I included extended family trees for all starting factions prior to CNP release and have yet to give surnames for some factions. I plan on doing so for precisely the reasons the CNP has - to track bloodlines.

I'll fix the Turkish heir title, too. As I used my own expanded.txt to change Faction Names, I may have messed up on merging CNP's titles through cutting and pasting.

2) Rebellious generals/cities. All games I have played, Egypt is up against to not fall apart from rebellious cities, and I just noticed the Pope being kicked from Rome by rebels.

Are you still seeing this? I was pretty sure I toned down the triggers for AI to get the Noble Rebellion Traits from BBB 2.0. I'll check again, as you're right I've seen Egypt drop to one city within 20 turns of an auto-run campaign a few times due to too frequent noble rebellions.

Also as ENSAIS pointed out, I've yet to include the initial loyalty starter traits for all named characters in the descr_strat file. This should help cut down rebellions, as well.

Once, again thanks for the feedback finneys13! Cheers!

Incidentally, how are you finding the economy now? One tip to make some additional money is to tear down another faction's military buildings upon conquering one of their settlements. They're of no use to you anyway and plus, if they retake it, they're going to have to build up their infrastructure again to recruit any troops.

[finneys13]

I only gave Scotland a qucik spin earlier, bit busy for the next few days, but it just I did notice Portugal being the richest faction with only its starting region, too early to say if that will be a problem.

For sake of gameplay, I would agree with releasing Portugal from its Spanish surrounds.

[Socal_infidel]

I only gave Scotland a qucik spin earlier, bit busy for the next few days, but it just I did notice Portugal being the richest faction with only its starting region, too early to say if that will be a problem.

For sake of gameplay, I would agree with releasing Portugal from its Spanish surrounds.

yeah, I think that may make sense. The smaller factions do tend to build up quite the war chest at times.

Also, edited the first post to include a chart of the AoR Buildings Construction System.

[Socal_infidel]

UPDATE:

IMPROVED ORDER KNIGHTS

New Mounts for All the Orders!

Ever wonder why the mounts of the Order Knights were the mounts of the faction and not the Order? Wonder no more! Thanks to Ralendil’s Orders Mod, the mounts of all of the Orders have been changed!

New Banners for All the Orders!

Again, thanks to Ralendil, the Order Knights (mounted and dismounted) have been given new Order banners!

IMAGES:

Before!
French Hospitaller Knights in full charge against a unit of Turkish Halberd Militia
After!
Hospitallers once again about to collapse the flank of a some Turkish Halberd Militia

Cavalry Order Banners: Teutonic Knights arrayed on a hill overlooking the battle field moments before all hell breaks loose!

Infantry Order Banners: Teutonic Foot Knights and Brother-Sergeants await the Lithuanian charge...

The Knights of the Order of Saint James of Compostela lead the charge against the Moors!

More to Come!

Cheers!