I was thinking the .db file was generated off of your file..like the path finding .db file..sorry
Good info to know, now I can make it sunny in Scotland all the time! it's so depressing...LOL
I was thinking the .db file was generated off of your file..like the path finding .db file..sorry
Good info to know, now I can make it sunny in Scotland all the time! it's so depressing...LOL
Last edited by xeryx; April 20, 2010 at 02:17 PM.
"Do not try and bend the spoon, that is impossible, instead only try and realize the truth.
There is no spoon, and you will see, it is not the spoon that bends, only yourself."-The Matrix
Man is but a shadow of his former self, encased in feverish delusions of grandeur.
Ignorance is your shield, knowledge is your weapon.
Heart without reason is stupid, reason without heart is blind.
Just some more feed back. I'm still early in the game like turn thirty something
1) Can definitely tell a difference in Battle AI. I'm suffering more casualties in battles and I have to pay more attention to what's going on. Every victory is like a pyrrhic victory
2) I'm playing as the Byzantines and two-front wars are now more challenging and make much more sense. Hungary came after me with three large armies. I was able to devastate one of their armies with flame throwers in a siege battle but I eventually had to sue for peace. This is the first time I have ever paid tribute to another faction
3) It's still early but I was wondering if there wasan issue with the money script. Every time I open diplomatic relations, some factions (HRE, crusader states) are poor, bankrupt. This does not happen all the time (sometimes HRE is meagre or modest) and there are exceptions (Sicily, Teutonic order are rich, well-off)
Come to think of it this might be more historically accurate
4) Do the Mongols become more aggressive around a certain date? I made sure the ai_label was nomad but aside from taking Moscow they have been kinda quiet. It is still early though
Xeryx: have you tried posting on totalwarforums.com Secret edit...
Last edited by xeryx; April 20, 2010 at 02:31 PM.
3) No it's not the money script. it is the diplomacy file. I have increased the power and the money bands dramatically, and to be more realistic. It also affects the game diplomacy.
4) I edited your post to keep it secret, haha but yes I will definitely do so soon. I want to make sure all the bugs are squished and refine a few more things here first. Good call!
Last edited by xeryx; April 20, 2010 at 02:34 PM.
"Do not try and bend the spoon, that is impossible, instead only try and realize the truth.
There is no spoon, and you will see, it is not the spoon that bends, only yourself."-The Matrix
I have toned down Mongols a bit, they are on par with HRE and Byzantium, as far as the AI boost for different difficulties goes. Russians are pretty much able to repel them for quite a bit, however constant pressure slowly removes them from the steppes. On VH Mongols took a fair bit of steppes in mere 15 turns, however by no means Russians handed them lands peacefully (they had 3 stacks near some castle last time I checked, and were ready to retake a city).
Man is but a shadow of his former self, encased in feverish delusions of grandeur.
Ignorance is your shield, knowledge is your weapon.
Heart without reason is stupid, reason without heart is blind.
Last edited by dknight237; April 21, 2010 at 03:32 AM.
the differences are not huge, but affect diplomacy, and aggressiveness of the AI in the campaign.
"Do not try and bend the spoon, that is impossible, instead only try and realize the truth.
There is no spoon, and you will see, it is not the spoon that bends, only yourself."-The Matrix
I played as Byzantines campaign hard/ battle medium for 50 turns and these were my observations
1) Yes the AI is a lot more aggressive that's for sure, I was almost always at war with another faction but all the wars made sense (Hungary, Venice, Turks, ie no random declarations like in vanilla). One time I did get a random declaration from France but that was it.
Hungary seems to be a bit overpowered but that might be more KGCM than XAI. Also, Teutonic order seems to be very weak but again that might be KGCm
2) As far as diplomacy goes I noticed that it was more common for factions to have dubious/deceitful reputations and that it was harder to keep my allies happy (had to pay tribute/offer gifts more often). Ironically, I did not get any alliance backstabs like you do in vanilla
3) Mongols eventually did start turning up the heat on the Rus. Nice
4) I was very impressed with the Crusade/Jihad pathfinding. Mongols were actually able to make it all the way to Jerusalem! One thing I noticed though was that some factions prefer to use ships and some prefer to march. I was wondering if this might have to do something with the descr_sm faction file
In it, some factions prefer naval invasions and some don't. I noticed that those that did used ships for Crusades while those who didn't just marched to the Holy Land.
Bottom line: I would stick to Medium like the first post recommended. I've beated Vanilla on VH but XAI hard is just too hard
Thank you Dknight you just made our flipping year!! Because this is the type of experience we have been striving for.Bottom line: I would stick to Medium like the first post recommended. I've beated Vanilla on VH but XAI hard is just too hard
And don't let the levels fool you, easy is still not easy, as there are only higher threshold for the AI to attack and a bonus to diplomacy. The biggest difference is the diplomacy and will have more friends and allies. Hard and Medium rest on the same diplomacy threshold, but has a less aggressive campaign AI.
I am VERY pleased to hear that there are many factions using ships, to do Crusades!! Guess we fixed that!! To answer your question, yes that is the file that has the strongest influence to using ships, vs. land. But we are working on some other theories as well.
Last edited by xeryx; April 22, 2010 at 01:08 PM.
"Do not try and bend the spoon, that is impossible, instead only try and realize the truth.
There is no spoon, and you will see, it is not the spoon that bends, only yourself."-The Matrix
been playing a campaign on M/M as the Byzantines and here are some other observations
Im at about turn 50
At one point, Rus became vassals to Mongols then I finally was able to ally myself to the mongols
A short couple of turns later, the Mongols declared war on their own vassals and I had to choose between remaining allies with the Mongols or the Rus
That was kinda strange
Also, at one point Jerusalem declared war on Antioch. I always thought those two were close
These are just exceptions though. For the most part diplomacy and faction relations make way more sense than in vanilla
Allies do backstab each other, when they are desperate or grow overly powerful compared to former ally.
Game would lack depth if allies never backstabbed each other, especially in the case of player.
However, these cases are still rather rare, perhaps too rare.
The protectorate/attack schema is pretty simple ... you vassal someone to shift your forces elsewhere onto new conquest, judging that your new vassal is so weak he won't pose a threat ... and when you happen to not be interested in conquest elsewhere despite forming a protectorate, then you naturally finish the job and stab your useless vassal. In case of violent Mongols, with not really much room for expansion, it feels quite natural.
Also, don't count too much on alliance with Mongols, when you happen to be close to their border. It's much better to simply have trade rights with them and stay neutral, while indirectly supporting factions at war with Mongols. You want to stop this menace from becoming too strong, or eventually they will heavily interfere in your own campaign goals.
Last edited by Achilla; April 22, 2010 at 06:17 PM.
Man is but a shadow of his former self, encased in feverish delusions of grandeur.
Ignorance is your shield, knowledge is your weapon.
Heart without reason is stupid, reason without heart is blind.
Thanks for the info on vassals. Can you keep good notes on them, maybe even go back and replay some turns and look for the cause of the break up. Maybe the vassal tried to attack. There may need to be some things adjusted with that.
Yeah what Achilla Said, NEVER trust the mongols..as the Rus found out, and that could be why they got attacked too. ( I may have to check their rules out this weekend)
Last edited by xeryx; April 22, 2010 at 09:07 PM.
"Do not try and bend the spoon, that is impossible, instead only try and realize the truth.
There is no spoon, and you will see, it is not the spoon that bends, only yourself."-The Matrix
hmm, I think it might have to do with the Mongols reputation being despicable. The same thing happened with my allies HRE and Sicily.
I am at turn 50 now and I have been allied with Sicily and HRE up to that point. They started out as mixed in the beginning but over time became despicable.
Even though I had perfect relations, paid tribute, they both betrayed my alliance and/or declared war on me. All my other allies are either reliable/mixed and I haven't had any problems with them. So I think it might just be the reputation
It's easy to get a ceasefire with HRE and Sicily but no matter what I can't restore the alliance. They're both pretty powerful too at this point
I'd love to see few screenshots of your campaign map.
Sicily, and Italian factions overall WILL be aggressive towards Byzantines, especially when Byzantium is played by the player, for the simple reason of easier and less dangerous prey, unlike super-powers such as HRE or the ever-strong France and Hungary.
Very big and powerful factions tend to disrespect smaller ones as well. HRE can afford few wars at a time, however Byzantines are usually pushed back by the Turks from the east, and fight a 'sitting' war with the Magyars and Italian factions, as neither can deal a decisive blow. Byzantium is a decadent empire, and I made sure they will be tough to play as. One of my favourite factions over KGCM btw.
Man is but a shadow of his former self, encased in feverish delusions of grandeur.
Ignorance is your shield, knowledge is your weapon.
Heart without reason is stupid, reason without heart is blind.
Reputation, is their Global standing. It is their general reputation, and how trustworthy they are. You relations, are faction to faction specific. It deals with your faction standing. How they see you!
"Do not try and bend the spoon, that is impossible, instead only try and realize the truth.
There is no spoon, and you will see, it is not the spoon that bends, only yourself."-The Matrix
If I haven't said this before thanks for making this game complete. This is what vanilla should have been.
I'll try and post some pics. To clarify I was talking about the Reputation of the Mongols, HRE and Sicily not their relations with me
Strangely, my relations with HRE and Sicily usually range from Very Good to Amiable yet they still betray the alliance and/or declare war on me every once in a while
Is there a script/xml file that can limit the number of factions an AI faction can be at war with? Say if HRE is already at war with 3 or 4 factions then can you mod it so they can't be allowed to declare war on another faction?
Vanilla had a big problem with this and XAI has definitely improved on this
You are very observant darknight ( my favorite super hero ) no need for scripts here! Remember we only use them when we absolutely have too!
Just know this we have gone to great lengths to keep the ai from over extending themselves. But that does not mean the won't do it sometimes. There are special instances where they maybe trying to help an ally. I am also sure there may need to be some tweeks in some areas to.
Also make sure to thank Dave Scarface and Soul firez too because they really did a great job too. If you haven't rep everyone.
Since you are getting into the game feel free to write an aar ( after action report). Or get into some detailed reportingit really helps others know that it isn't all hype!
Diplomacy has a few things I need to check. But we have buit in randomness to the ai as well so that thing have some unpredictibility.
You pay us the highest compliment that is for sure. Thank you for taking the time to play. Tell all your friends! Dust off that cd, I've got something for you, that you have to play to believe. Yes we know it is not perfect. But dang has it come a long ways.
"Do not try and bend the spoon, that is impossible, instead only try and realize the truth.
There is no spoon, and you will see, it is not the spoon that bends, only yourself."-The Matrix
Anything I need to do about the pathfinding file?
Just see how well it works, in sieges, and open battles, after you install the 2 files in your data directory
"Do not try and bend the spoon, that is impossible, instead only try and realize the truth.
There is no spoon, and you will see, it is not the spoon that bends, only yourself."-The Matrix