Hi All,
With the usual delay, here's the preview of Stainless Steel 6.0. :original:
Important features with changes/additions from SS 5.1 are marked with *.
Note that this may not be the final feature list and some things may be added or changed.
Preview of
*--- New Intro Video ---
1. The Campaign Map
*- Completely new and huge campaign map, covering most of Europe and the beginning of Persia.
*- New ground types and custom climates.
*- Maximum width the engine allows of 510 movement tiles.
*- Mountains, hills and map outlines are based on satellite data.
*- Maximum amount of almost 200 historically medieval settlements. (A few had to sacrifice historical accuracy for better game balance)
*- Every Region has its own ressources, including new valuable resources in the "outbacks" of the map.
Map Screenshots:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=138892
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=146099
New campaign map models:
*- New Coat of Arms for most factions
- New character models for all faction leaders
*- New captain models for catholic factions
*- New captain and general models for all orthodox factions
*- New character skins
-* New models for trade ships, sieges and trade wagons
- New models for european castles, fortresses and citadels
- Unique models for brick castles
- wooden walls now have a wooden colour
2. The Campaigns
*- Extended and more reasonable win conditions
- Date is shown shown as years and turns
- Money Script to support AI Factions
*- New menu music
- New campaign music from the Kingdoms Expansion:
* Crusades Music for the middle eastern factions
* Britania Music for north european factions
* Teutonic Music for east european factions
The Early Era Campaign
-Time frame 1080 - 1560.
- 1.5 years per turn and 320 turns.
The Late Era Campaign
- Time frame is 1220 - 1560
- 1 year per turn and 340 turns
- Historically accurate empires
*- Historically accurate family trees (within the limits of the game engine)
- Advanced settlements and units available at the game start
- A few settlements are different than in the Early Era
- Every faction owns one or two very advanced settlements, which will be your local military powerhouse. Loosing this key settlements can seriously drop the military and econimc power of one faction.
- Mongols playable
- Teutonic Order playable
- Kingdom of Jerusalem replaces Knights Templar
Hotseat Campaign
- Play the early Era Campaign in Hotseat mode. (guide to play late era follows)
3. The Factions
28 Playable Factions
New Factions:
*The Khwarezmian Empire
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...kwarezm+empire
*Cuman Khanate
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...+of+the+cumans
Kievan Rus
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=99475
Crown of Aragon
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=104053
Knights Templar (only playable in the Early Era Campaign)
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=86534
*Genoa (replaces milan)
*Lithuania
*The Teutonic Order (only playable in the Late Era Campaign)
Ireland
Norway
Kingdom of Jerusalem
Reskinned Factions:
*Denmark
*England
*Scotland
Byzantium
Russia
Mongols
4. Units & Mercenaries
Units
*- New captain and general models
- Maximum amount of 500 Different Units and mercenaries
*- New and additional units for all factions
- All factions now have a logical and more complete recruitment tree and several reasonable and interesting units are added.
- Some units are only recruitable in specific regions or with specific buildings
- Early/Late Generals recruitable in castles/citadels
- Added Additional Units:
Dismounted Order Knights
Dismounted Armored Clergy
Regular Light Swordsmen for many factions
Greek Arquebusiers
Guard Pikemen for Byzantium
Desert Raiders for Moors and Egypt
Calivermen for Scotland
Armored Clergy for Norway
*Mangonels for most factions
*Heavy Hussars for Poland
and many more units from the Kingdoms Expansion...
Mercenaries
- Many new mercenaries for the Early and High Medieval Period:
*Doppelsoldner, Sergeant Swordsmen, Hashishim Mercenaries, Viking Mercenaries, Prussian Spearmen, Highland Pikemen, Armenian Infantry
Pikemen Mercenaries, Hunters, Arbalesters, Macemen, English Huscarls, Swabian Swordsmen, Andalusian Infantry, Mercenary Saracens, Axemen
Pisan and genoese Sailors, Armenians of selicia, Gwent Raiders
- New and more varied mercenary pools
- Greater mercenary variety
- Mercenaries have more experience
- Regions have more mercenary special units
5. Gameplay
Improved AI.
*Campaign:
- More aggressive Ai
- Better defending AI
- Better AI expansion and invasion
- Stronger alliances
- Rarer Catholic - Islamic alliances
*Battle:
- Increased flanking
- Better pathfinding
- Better Siege AI
New buildings
*- New education structures: Schools, libraries and universities
*- Medieval Wonders can now be constructed in important medieval cities: Dome of Rock (Jerusalem), Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem), Cordoba Mosque (Cordoba), Kaaba (Mecca), Notre Dame (Paris), St. Marks Basilica (Venice), Hagia Sophia (Constantinople), Great Aqueduct (Constantinople)
- Other buildings: highways, Hanseatic League and pagan shrines.
Role Play Elements
*- Completely reworked military and economical education, based on the inclination towards Military or Adminastrative skills, the quality of schools, libraries and universities and of course skills you show in battle.
*- Different titles for greek, catholic and islamic culture for every settlement. The effects and descriptions are often based on historical backgrounds.
*- Crowns for faction leaders that have conquered historical biggest empires
*- Royal Bloodlines for all existing factions
- Army attrition and supply system demands much more tactical decisions and religion is much more important. Watch and take care of your general and the moral and suply of his army!
*- Most ancillaries are now transferable from one character to another
*- Countless new Traits, Transferable Titles, Ancillaries
*- Several boosts for the AI to get better characters
- Unique Traits and Ancillaries for the Teutonic Order and the Knights Templar
- New Patriarch titles for Orthodox Factions available
- Many broken Character Traits and Ancillaries fixed
- and much more...
Events
*- Interactive Events: great fairs, lateran councils, pirates, tournaments. Choose yes or no with different impacts.
*- Faction Events: emergent Kingdom of Jerusalem, Teutonic Order and William Wallace, the capture of Jerusalem, the first Great Masjid...
*- New Historical Events like Order foundations, Inquisitions, cultural and scientific events, deaths of important persons...
- Informative Events when a certain capital is fallen, when a princess comes of age and when a monarch dies
Improved and challenging AI Armies
*- Ai now uses unit priorities to build their armies
- Ai is forced to make better mix of Infantry, Missiles, Cavalry and Artillery.
- AI produces more Elite and Heavy units.
Agents and Characters
- Historically accurate Character Names
- Reasonable limits for assassins, spies and priests
- Merchants income increased, movement increased
- Inquisitors less effective
- Spy's chances decreased, movement greatly increased
- Princesses movement increased, more charming
- Diplomats movement increased
- Priests movement increased
- Captains are less likely to rebel
- Assasins slightly improved, movement increased
- Imam's required Piety to call a Jihad raised
- Less Heretics and Rebels
- More Witches
Settlement and Unit Recruitment Changes
- Important medieval Cities like Constantinople, Jerusalem, Kiev, Rome and Paris more powerful
*- Many Guilds changes for more varied guilds
*- More logical recruitment, for example cities can build more ships & artillery than castles.
- Fortesses/Citadels & Large/Huge Cities have 4-5 recruitment slots
- Castles-Citadels have 1-2 free upkeep
- City growth slightly reduced
- Slightly lowered law bonus in cities
- Tax Income slightly decreased
*- Money income bonus for late game buildings decreased
- Unit recruitment depends on barracks and armorers
6. Battles
*Complete rework of unit stats and balance.
- Much bigger difference between different unit classes.
- Cavalry stronger and with an devastating charge, very expensive.
- Missile and gunpowder units do more damage
- Spearmen are now stronger against cavalry
- Increased effect of heat on heavily armored units.
- Unit recruitment costs and upkeep costs derived from actual medieval sources
- Improved unit cohesion
- Longer Lasting Battles due to slightly higher morale and lower attack values
- More realistic battle map movement
- Artillery crews reduced, morale lowered
- (Great) Bombards, Serpentins can deploy Stakes
- Shield walls for several early era units
- Ballista/Cannon Towers fixed
- More Archers can deploy stakes
- All Longbowmen ranges increased
- Pikemen very vulnerable to missiles
- and much much more...
Custom Battles
- All historical Battles playable (except Hastings)
- New scenario battles for singleplayer
- New scenarios for multiplayer
*- New Custom Battle Maps
Kingdoms Expansion Features
- Boiling Oil from Gatehouses
- Control your reinforcements
7 Graphics
- New menu design
*- New Unit Cards for all factions
*- New Unit Info Cards for all factions
- New Faction Symbols
*- 42 new epic loading screens
*- New models for Mailed Knights, Armored Sergeants, Crusader Sergeants and Knights, Light Swordsmen, Berdiche Axemen
*- New models and skins for all captains and east european Generals
- New Horse models and skins for Templar, Hospitaller and Montesa Knights
- New skins for all Order Knights
- New upgrade for Eastern Bodyguards
- Special shields for Norman Knights
- New skies from kingdoms, including aurora sky
- More spectacular Sky variations
- New grass textures from kingdoms
- Different interfaces for eastern, northern and arabic cultures
- New unique Shield textures for all catholic factions
- New unique Unit Textures for all European Early & High units
- New unique Unit Textures for all Feudal & Mailed Knights
- New unique unit textures for all Order Knights armor upgrades
- New historical accurate faction banners and banners for special units
*- Improved Musket & Artillery Smoke
*- several other little changes
Credits (also in-game)
Akvilonn (Unit info cards)
Alletun (Faction symbols)
Apkairan (Loading screens)
B.A.L.T.S team (Unit models & textures)
Burrek (Unit textures)
Byg (Army Supply system)
Danova (Unit models & textures)
Dearmad & Pnutmaster (Traits & Ancillaries)
Disgruntled Goat (Unit textures)
Doge Cristoforo (Beta Tester)
Echad (for his great support)
finneys (Historical character names)
hellfire15 (Beta Tester)
Horsearcher (Sky textures)
Ice Beast (Unit stats tables)
IZ Master (Beta Tester)
Joe Dreck (Banners)
Kalos (Unit textures)
Lusted (Battle & Campaign AI)
Point Blank (Unit stats & balance)
Quark (Traits & Ancillaries, Wonders, Events, Beta Tester and great supporter)
Rex Cobalt (Unit textures)
Riczu74 (Trade ship & Siege models)
Rozanov (Beta Tester)
Salty (Shield textures)
Seleukosart (Intro video)
shenryyr (Beta Tester)
Sher Khan (Unit cards)
Nikola Aleksić (aka Sir Nicholas Altman) (Beta Tester)
Skaven (Unit cards, extraordinary efforts)
Tommyknocker (Campaign map)
trashing_mad (Heavy Hussars)
Tyre (Unit textures)
wolfslayer (Beta Tester and contributions)
Xeryx (For great efforts and work, Beta tester)
Ziher (Shield textures)
Thank you all for your work and help and the support of Stainless Steel! 
Stainless Steel 6.0 Preview
Re: Stainless Steel 6.0 Preview
Originally Posted by Master Zuma
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