A Proper Empire: Terra Incognita v1.1.0 - Discussion and Suggestions

[Irishmafia2020]

I'm playing on H/H. I wasn't really expecting the Brits to be such a problem... usually I maintain good relations with them, and stay near their sea lanes for security, but this time I conquered Florida, and they wanted it, which led to a much more general multi-theater war...

[Burnoutfigs]

Hello all,
I havent played since 2009 and i'm back. I can't wait to see what my favorite mod has been up too.

[l33tl4m3r]

What version were you on last?

[Dago Red]

Welcome back! '09, I think you should sit down and prepare yourself for the freedom of early and late campaigns!

[Burnoutfigs]

I was here when you first added Manpower. I can't remember what version that was. I was looking through my old messages and just realized I was creating new file to change Titles to correct ones and put a discription on all minor factions. You asked for it, but I never gave it to you...sorry about that. I can still do that if you need?

Hey!

How is the description project going?

I would really like to in clude it for the next version! Send it to me!

Thanks in advance, Burn.

-Brody

[Destin Faroda]

Does this mod modify unit stats, preferably like in Empire Realism III?

[Dago Red]

Not too familiar with Empire Realism, other than from my initial mod shopping years ago. But yes, the units are modified, no probably not like in ERIII.

Mod is total overhaul with large focus on changing the campaign with big features like supply and demand. Naval battles are VASTLY improved, you would need to read through a long list of both drastic and subtle changes to handling characteristics, cannon weights, and other nautical elements to see why, or you could just play it! Land battles are improved, totally, from vanilla, but there are still instances of wonky AI units stuttering across the map here or there. APE:TI is compatible with AUM (a great thing) so I know the changes cannot be as drastic as ER's to stats.
Open up the Quick Overview of Features spoiler in the latest download sticky here, which tells you more than a few things about units.

If you want to know a specific unit's stats i can tell you that too.

[l33tl4m3r]

I also want to point out that cannon weights, ranged, and reload speeds are also adjusted accordingly for land artillery as well!

On that note--
You'll also notice that land units, as well as naval units, are able to move a distance according to their class. Artillery moves the slowest and will slow down a land army.

Unless you are using horse artillery, which moves as fast as infantry, now able to keep up with the bulk armies on the campaign map... but they do not have the same weight ranges as standard artillery...

Some factions are blessed with guard horse artillery... the biggest guns available for horse artillery and the heaviest of the fast moving guns.

Foods for thought.

--

Good to see you Figs!

Yeah, hook me up with the localization additions!

I may be getting back to finishing APE: TI!

[FiestaSolara]

How is the BAI and CAI in this mod?
Is it equal, better or worse than the AI in Darthmod?

[l33tl4m3r]

How is the BAI and CAI in this mod?
Is it equal, better or worse than the AI in Darthmod?

This question occasionally pops up still.

The unfortunate truth about the AI in Empire is that there is very little a modder can do to make any real changes.

There are some claims out there that some mods make vast improvements and such, but these claims are unsubstantiated and impossible in many aspects.

That being said, we've done as much as we can to help the AI perform as well as possible insidethe limits given to us by the game engine.

Give it a try and let us know what you think!

[Dago Red]

The CAI is extremely good, it can even be a genius. The BAI is stubborn, sometimes determined, it's even challenging on the settings this mod was designed specifically for - Normal/Normal. But it's no genius. How it relates to Darth mod I have no idea, never played it. I have DMS for FoTs, but that's several engine versions away so I can hardly compare, but actually there are more similarities than differences.

Some points on BAI:
- Army will sometimes re-arrange itself to counter your moves. This can be totally confounding for you and throw you off your game, or it can be totally nonsensical for the AI and cause it to expose itself to undue risk.

- In attack sieges dragoons sometimes will enter the map dismounted (or dismount instantly on load, I can't tell) and effectively partake in assaulting your walls.

- the AI assesses your firepower strength, and if it is outgunned in artillery, it will attack you, no matter who the attacker on the campaign map was, instead of sitting there and getting shelled into oblivion.

- Units charge where it hurts, but the AI might do this to its own detriment as well. It's chaotic and random though, so even though you may see instances of sheer stupidity, overall it has a real feel to it. Lancers may stay wide on your flank and wait, or they may be at your lines in a frontal charge before you can even fire a second salvo from your cannon.

- In the same night, same campaign -- I had enemy fusileers charge with bayonets without firing a single shot first. Stupid right? They did however defeat the unit they charged, but still a waste it seems. In a following battle, I saw a unit of fusileers moving in again, and had the facing unit hold fire... hold fire... I was going to blast them about halfway through the fire zone (distance makes a big difference in accuracy). I turned my attention to some other pressing business and when i looked back, the damn fusileers weren't charging... this time they had fired at long range and were already reloading for a second, now vastly outshooting my very mediocre shooters. I gave order to fire, then charge, and the fusileers skirmished away. Damn confounding!


On the CAI:
Where the BAI is good but sometimes does leave me shaking my head, the CAI just impresses. Broad alliances are formed and mostly kept. You don't usually see isolated factions endlessly going to war, unless they are very large and powerful ones.

It's also not shy about naval landings, at all. In current game, When the UP was defeated, leaving several rebel provinces, before I could get an expeditionary force over to the Americas, Spain had landed on Curacao and Dutch Guyana. My force (Ottomans) arrived and landed on French Guyana (which the Dutch had previously taken) just in time to seize the port in front of the Spanish army that was already crossing the land border. I just barely beat them to it and gave Spain a nice horse as a consolation prize.

When Karelia rebelled between the ongoing Russo-Swedish war, the Maratha confederacy of all places, sent a force up to seize Finland. Their timing was impeccable, too swift for either Sweden or Russia to take advantage and the result is a buffer zone between the two, essentially saving Sweden which was steadily losing.

I'm currently using my pawns, the Barbary states and the Mamelukes to secure the empire. The former's CAI is blocking the Atlantic entrance into the Mediterranean, and raiding my enemy's trade routes, while the Mamelukes defend the back door (Iraq) and have even sent an army group north past the caucasus to help on the northern border with Russia.

[SirEyeball]

Hi just tried your mod playing the Danish faction. A couple of ideas and suggestions.
1. add an admiralty building. It can be done I have seen it in other mods. it seems highly illogical that one of the major naval factions has no ability to research naval techs.
2. Add the sons of Dannebrog. The submod is out of date and the author has officially abandoned it so use the units from this to almost complete the Danish faction.
3. When agents enter a trade port let them travel for a fee to any of the ports you control. this will help untie some of your navy for transporting agents from or to the colonies.
4. Let ships repair in the trade ports in the trade theatres. It seems logical that repairs and rehiring of crew was done at the trade ports and not only in your home ports.

[BlinkAngels44]

Just wanted to say i started playing APE:TI with AUM and i am really enjoying it. My first big battle i did what i used to do in darthmod, sent cheap infantry with A couple of artillery. I go to invade flanders as, the the Dutch have taken the region. I go upp to the battle and just thought it would be easy i knew what the AI usually would do to react to my movements but i got murdered. The BAI actually planned out its strategy based on changes in my strategy throughout the whole battle,knew every weakspot. I didnt expect this and i love it. In my opinion with the inclusion of AUM huge unit variety and this mod's amazing CAI and BAI this is definitely my go to empire mod. Great job!

[Trig]

Greetings again. Apologies for the tl;dr in advance

The Situation

It's now 1755 in my Russian Early campaign of APE:TI+AUM. Trying to be peaceful in Europe, but India is all mine, as are the Balkans. Turkey is no more, conquered by my ally Persia, Sweden has been conquered by me and given to Denmark for Christmas, Poland and France destroyed Prussia and Austria, Spain is a major power in America and south Europe. My income is about 60K per season, most improvements built so I hardly have anything to spend on, I got 3 stacks of top notch regiments in Europe, a parade stack of outdated Streltsy (cause I don't have the heart to disband units), and an all-Cossack army in the Caucasus (some roleplaying there), another 3 all-colonial stacks in India...

...and yet, in spite of it all being loads of fun to get to this point, now it seems it got just too easy and I find it a challenge to bother continuing the campaign. Once the map becomes owned by 4 superpowers, instead of the many bickering minors, it becomes a lot less fun.

So, my observations into what could be a bit improved:

I. Campaigning

On Normal/Normal as I played now, it is very difficult at start but becomes too easy some 30 years in. What I'd like to see is a more historic approach to the strategic problems. As in, all I have two armies but four enemies, where do I go... As is now, I can too easily just raise and keep an extra army.

What could change that... Perhaps raising the upkeep value of units. Historically countries marched with two, maybe three armies max, here I see major countries with a dozen stacks, so obviously keeping an army is too easy. Many countries kept campaigning all the time, just to keep own army foraging on foireign soil, as it was too costly to maintain it at home. Likewise for the navy. I have several stacks, and only took over the Madagascar trade completely, no ships in other trade zones (more roleplaying), yet the cost of keeping them is minimal.

The unit raising cost seems fine, though I'd perhaps make artillery a lot and cavalry a bit more expensive, it took, after all, quite some effort to make cannons and raise horses, than to just sign up soldiers... But the upkeep should be much higher, to make it prohibitive to keep too many units. Goes for AI too.

II. Unit type availability/distribution

1.
In short, recruiting is available everywhere if you have the building. I'd say all elite units should be limited to the capital only and probably not more than two cannon forges per country should be allowed. Perhaps also a number-of-regiments restriction should be put on anything but the base line infantry/militia/provincial cavalry/light artillery

2.
AI and player should be encouraged to field balanced armies and not campaign with a dozen stacks of 3 units. :/ I've encountered all cavalry armies or 50% artillery armies, etc...

3.
Playing Russian campaign I am eternally bothered that two of your first challenges Georgia and Checenya/Dagestan are mainly initially stacked with western-european units, later recruits such, and have western-type town militias. It really takes the immersion out of fighting them. Any chance to give them a more Turkish/Persian/Caucasian selection of units available and no Western tricorns?

4.
Mercenaries. More should be available, they should not go in your population/recruitment quota, but their morale should be very low (2/3 max) as they'd not be that moivated to die for you, since they're only there for the money...?

III. Artillery

1.
Overall, too much heavy artillery available too easily. 2 pounders, 3 pounders, 6 pounders should be the norm in armies, only then the odd 12 pounder, the rare 18 and very rare 24 and above pounders. Sure, they existed, but not on campaigns much, due to their cumbersomeness.

2.
Likewise, is it possible to visually change them, to give everything above 6 pounds the double horse carriage that currently only horse artillery uses? It wasn't uncommon for cannon to weigh over a ton and be pulled by a dozen animals, yet only the 3 and 6 pounders would probably be galopped around with horse batteriesm the others should move very slowly.

3.
What would also be great, if it could be implemented is capturing the guns. Cannons were a battle trophy, and much reused after capture, so you'd be stimulated to fight for them? Since the game has the mechanic of capture available for ships, perhaps it could be used for this as well?

IV. Strategic messing

1.
I like me a diplomatic/economic/intrigue game as well. So far no matter what the odds, what the bribes, what the pressure, I've never ever managed to make anyone my protectorate. This shoudl be changed to become much easier. A defeated and beseiged country rather gets annihilated by me than accepts becoming a protectorate? Come on... Protectorates should be a lot more dynamic, you should be able to get protectorates easier, but also trade them, lose them to revolts or if if you lost a war, etc... also for the AI, so you have to really look out who you will attack and who will declare war on you because of this and they could even make a major enemy country their protectorate if soundly beating them in battle...

2.
Capitals should be a lot harder to keep if occupied. The last capital of defeated countries should remain rebellious longer, should spawn decently difficult rebel armies, etc, so that it becomes harder for powers to completely eliminate players. Ideally I'd like to see all countries still on the map even at the end of the game, by keeping at least some land to themselves...I mean France (and most others represented in game) won and lost many wars, but in the end, today it's still pretty much exactly where it was then...

3.
You (and the AI) should have an easier method of destabilising a province through subterfuge. Sometimes I want to help lands revolt, but there's no mechanism for me to do it, except my own religious agents, yet even with 100% my religion, the enemy province is still happily peaceful...so, some instrument of causing trouble should be available perhaps... Stationed gentlemen or rakes in towns raise resistance, or something such?

4.
Allies. My allies so far always sided with me (cause I'm strong and mighty), my enemies allies almost never did with them when war is declared. Not really fair, is it? This should probably be less tied to a countries might as it should be to honouring treaties and relationship between the lands. My ally who hates me would likely abandon me the first chance they get, and one that likes me would stick with me even against odds...

5. Routed enemies. I find it rather tiresome having to chase a defeated party all over the map, or they go burning my towns. Any chance to program them to try to find the shortest route to their nearest province in case they majorly lost or routed from a battle?

6. Attrition/foraging/supply. Seems none of these have any influence in game. A detached stack deep in enemy territory, with no link to home is equally effective as any? Shogun 2 added the attrition mechanic in winter etc, which was a good addition. Any chance to apply anything such? As in, you can't be in an enemy province too long, winter campaigning causes losses to your units, etc?


Anyway...overall a nicely balanced and fun mod, enjoy plaing it. Some of the above have probably been suggested before, some are probably impossible, some are probably silly, but if some can be implemented sensibly as to not break the game in any way, it would be even more challenging to play.

[Sonata Ode]

Truly amazing mod! With decision making prioritized and balanced features. Looking forward for your future releases!

[PrimoTw]

Hi, L33t i've just created this account to say that after trying most of mods (Darth, Imperial, ER IV and so on) your mod is certainly the best mod there's here for E:TW. Coupled with AUM, it gives nice units, great new and necessary mechanics ( manpower and supply) and most important off all, a superb AI for CA and BA to play against.
Thanks for your excellent work man! And if you could i would love to see some update, or some new TW projects made by you and your team!

[l33tl4m3r]

Just waiting for Rome 2 to come out...

[Kuroi]

Didn't know where to ask, so I'll do it here. In Empire on of the things that really annoyed me were alliances I had from the very beginning. My only choice was to respect them and have war with everyone my dumb allies attack/get attacked by or break them, getting -10 of relations with everyone forever. Neither of these situations are up to my tastes.
Is this like that in APE too? or can I break my alliances without worrying about getting worse relations with everyone because I get set up with alliances I don't want to have and can't do anything about them?

[mugzybrown]

Dumb question.. what is AUM and could you link me there? Thansk.

[Dooz]

Is there any way to have the manpower/supply message not pop up every time you click a city? Perhaps instead a keyboard key to summon it, but short of that just remove it completely if that's the only way. And I mean something I can change or do myself right now, not an official mod change suggestion or whatever. It's just really driving me crazy for some reason.