Lands to Conquer 4.0 - Preview 5: AI, Balancing and Shiny Things
Lands to Conquer 4.0 - Preview 5: AI, Balancing and Shiny Things
With the Era Campaign previews finished(check out this thread for all 4.0 previews so far), in this final preview for 4.0 i will cover the improvements to AI, Balancing and of course new shiny things that will be in 4.0.
Sorry folks, not many pics today, didn't have much time for this on.
Release Date
LTC 4.0 will be out within a week.
Campaign AI
This is the AI area that has been improved the most since 3.1. I have been working on it almost constantly for a while now, and i am very happy with the end results. Whilst it isn't perfect(it never will be given the limitations of the AI modding and simply there will never be enough time to make a perfect campaign AI), this is what my campaign AI and related changes to other files does better than the vanilla AI:
-Stronger alliances, and allies which help each other more. This results in alliance blocs forming which also change over the course of the game.
-More logical changes to faction standings. So you and the AI will no longer always end up terrible and untrustworthy.
-More logical diplomacy, so it is now a more useful tool in the campaign.
-Rarer Catholic - Islamic alliances.
-Better AI sense of survivability. AI factions are more likely to want peace/vassal if being beaten/beaten badly.
-Better AI garrisoning settlements, and use of forces to guard it's borders.
-More aggressive AI v Independent Factions(eg the rebels from vanilla), so the AI expands much better early on and so the AI can create powerful nations.
-Better AI invasions. It will now build up more before attacking, and attack with more stacks, and stacks which have more units in them.
-Catholic factions less likely to attack each other, but still plenty of wars going on to give that Total War and Medieval experience.
All of this combines to really change the campaign experience, and really enhances the camapign as the AI is smarter, tougher and diplomacy is more useful. It also makes the campaign a much more enjoyable experience.
Battle AI
The Battle AI has also been improved since 3.1, the main improvements being in the siege AI and pathfinding. The AI now performs better in sieges, and the improvements to pathfinding help with unit cohesion and AI performance overall.
Though once again it is not perfect, it is better than the vanilla AI.
Unit Balancing
4.0 will be using a slightly modified version of the balancing found in the Medieval II: Kingdoms Crusades Campaign. The main difference being some changes to unit speeds so that cavalry are slightly faster than they were(i felt they were just slightly too slow in 3.1), and Halberds and Pikemen will march at the correct speed now.
I am also making use of the new recruitment_priority_offset value made available in Kingdoms to fine tune the AI campaign recruitment so it recruits better armies.
New Menu background, Loading Screens and Splash Screen
As i felt the black top and bottom on the loading screens/splash screen and menu background in 3.1 was a bit bland, I have used the parchement texture i used to make the faction selection maps for all the campaigns to make a new style for the loading screens. There are also more loading screens than in 3.1. See pics below:
Battlemap Graphic changes
I am adding in the new grass textures from Kingdoms into 4.0, and i have also changed it so that unit banners no longer bounce.
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I hope you have enjoyed the last preview for 4.0, and i hope you will all be anticipating it's release.
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Originally Posted by Emperador Carlos
