Medieval Kingdoms Total War: General Overview (OLD THREAD)

[Ahiga]

Ok, so I made a few horse armours.
Credits: the lamellar armour and the padded armour texture, though heavily modified, belong to rus XIII century mod (M&B). Thank you.
The chainmail texture is my own creation.
Model is CA horse
As always, WIP.

Attachment 310173Attachment 310174

Holy guacamole that's damn impressive.

[Lord Giovanni]

For those who did not catch it, please see the reveal for the Mediterranean Ummah on the last post of the previous page!

[PlPs]

Sounds fantastic! Keep it up guys!

[warman222]

Just an update here. I've been working on importing helmets from Al Mansur's OSP pack. I have imported around 10 helmets from it and I might import a couple more if needed. I also adjusted the color on some of the current ones to make everything more unified and less doctored looking. The result came out really good I must say. It also helped out with meshing these new helmets with the old ones. It looks they belong in the same unit. I was also concerned that it would look odd since the new helms are slightly more era appropriate than some of the old ones, but thankfully it didn't. This is all for the most part referring to helmets for the soldiers, although some of them will be used for the knights too. The total amount of soldier helmets has reached 26. The way I see it the larger the pool of assets I can pull from the better. I would post a screenshot but I need to fix the rigging on some of these new ones and I'm still waiting for more armor from Grudge. By the end of the week I should have something to show.

[Mortarion]

Just an update here. I've been working on importing helmets from Al Mansur's OSP pack. I have imported around 10 helmets from it and I might import a couple more if needed. I also adjusted the color on some of the current ones to make everything more unified and less doctored looking. The result came out really good I must say. It also helped out with meshing these new helmets with the old ones. It looks they belong in the same unit. I was also concerned that it would look odd since the new helms are slightly more era appropriate than some of the old ones, but thankfully it didn't. This is all for the most part referring to helmets for the soldiers, although some of them will be used for the knights too. The total amount of soldier helmets has reached 26. The way I see it the larger the pool of assets I can pull from the better. I would post a screenshot but I need to fix the rigging on some of these new ones and I'm still waiting for more armor from Grudge. By the end of the week I should have something to show.

Just be carefull about lag issues, one of if not the biggest lag/stuttering problem in Rome 2 happened when you put the unit detail to ultra. Because it had to render them at a bigger distance, but also because of all the different meshes and textures. Because the unit detail gave them more different looks and armours, the vanilla ultra settings has like acouple of variations but was enough to cause problems. But with this many variations as you're trying to make, i think it might run into problems?

[warman222]

Well I'm not using all the variants in one unit. I'm only using 14 in many of the units. 2 of the helmets are colored duplicates that will replace a variant or two. I try to not go any higher than 15 in most cases. My computer is middle of the road so it's a little tricky to tell lag issues but as such I'm trying to optimize things where I can. That's why I'm using the decal system as much as possible to try and reduce lag a little.

[Mortarion]

Well I'm not using all the variants in one unit. I'm only using 14 in many of the units. 2 of the helmets are colored duplicates that will replace a variant or two. I try to not go any higher than 15 in most cases. My computer is middle of the road so it's a little tricky to tell lag issues but as such I'm trying to optimize things where I can. That's why I'm using the decal system as much as possible to try and reduce lag a little.

Fair enough, just wanted to warn you about it incase you started getting carried away by all the variant possibilities . I would hate for this to release, only to have alot of people having issues duo to lag etc.
But again, you're doing a great job mate. Im so impressed how fast you learned all of this stuff and kept churning out all these amazing units, the whole mod team deserves praise!

[Ltd.]

what I found out is that setting imposters does a little bit of slowdown, and setting different imposters even more so, but also, that after the initial few seconds of stuttering the game evens out, balances itself, somehow, so then it runs fluent even with two full armies, and my pc is nowhere near high-end.
but setting imposters only on a few , or maybe on only one armour in a unit, and setting the same imposter maybe for all units in a faction should definitely help.

[The Wandering Storyteller]

Why is no one using models from Medieval 2 and it's mods?

[warman222]

Well I am a little bit. I took the catapult models from Medieval 2. The kite shields from the men at arms, the armed peasant weapons, the pavise shields coming up, and the barded horse models are all from various mods. I usually don't go with Medieval 2 assets because of the fact they aren't high poly enough or texture issues.

[Mortarion]

Why is no one using models from Medieval 2 and it's mods?

Too low poly i think, not enough polygons around the joints for proper animations with the Rome 2 skeletons would be my guess.

[Ltd.]

Yes, what warman and Mortarion said. I loved the textures and models of and in broken crescent, rusichi etc, but if I can I stick to M&B mods or OSP. I had some texture issues with rusichi stuff here, namely they appeared too washed out.

[warman222]

So with some down time for the modding work while waiting for updates from Grudge I want to show you some screenshots of the updated selection of helmets on many of the soldiers. Please take note that the only thing updated are the helmets, the body armor still needs to be updated by Grudge's new models.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I'm using Aztec's mod and Volcano battle mod here, just so you know.

I'm also working on a machinima video showing a charge of English Knights against a larger French army. It came out great and I know the music I'm going to use and everything.

[Lord Giovanni]

Buongiorno, my friends! It's time for the next reveal! We turn from the lands of princes and knights to the realms of merchants and citizens! That's right, it's time for ITALIAN CHRISTENDOM!

ITALIAN CHRISTENDOM
Mercenary Armies: -40% Mercenary Upkeep costs
Urbanization: +30% wealth from region center buildings


The Republic of Venice
Venetian Arsenal: -40% Ship Upkeep costs
Trade Empire: +50% Wealth from Trade Agreements
The Great Betrayal: Major diplomatic penalty with all Orthodox factions

The Most Serene Republic of Venice has recently emerged as the premiere trading nation in Europe. Using its network of trade connections throughout the Adriatic Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, Venice has acquired the wealth to make it a power to be reckoned with, even in this age of feudal power. A mercenary's crossbow can kill a charging knight with little difficulty.

Though Venice's wealth and influence come from its wide network of trade connections, it has not hesitated to use force when it felt the need to do so. Venetian citizen-soldiers have stood against the might of the knights of the Holy Roman Empire and triumphed, and Venetian galleys have aided many of the coastal battles of the crusaders in Palestine. But it was the actions of Venice during the Fourth Crusade that have cemented the republic's fame and notoriety. The Fourth Crusade was nothing short of a triumph for Venice. Having used their position of strength as being the carriers of the crusading forces, the Venetians used the crusaders to not only extend Venetian territory, but also to deliver a deathblow to the Byzantine Empire, who had been archrivals to Venetian commerce for centuries. The Venetian fleets had proved invaluable in the capture of Constantinople, and proved to the world that their galleys are to be feared. The city of Venice has turned the building and maintaining galley fleets into an art form, with the Venetian Arsenal being one of the busiest military ports in Europe.

The crusaders whom Venice took to the walls of Constantinople have established a new Catholic empire in the heart of old Byzantium, and have granted Venice preferred trade rights to the wealth that flows through that land. The Venetians delivering a dagger to the heart of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, however, has earned them the deep enmity of all those who followed the Byzantine Emperor into schism from Rome.

The Republic of Venice at this point stands proudly above the other city-states of Italy, having used the strength of its fleets and the cunning of its leaders to change the face of the Mediterranean. Whether it will work with the Latin Empire to continue carving new territories out of the corpse of the Byzantine Empire or extend its influence closer to home, there are countless options for expansion available for Venice, though admittedly some paths will be more difficult than others. The republic has reached great heights of power, influence and wealth, and even better days are surely ahead of it.


The Republic of Genoa
Crossbow Pioneers: +2 XP ranks for all archers
Bank of Genoa: +30% Wealth from Commerce buildings
Greener Pastures: +10% upkeep costs for all non-mercenary units

The Republic of Genoa has truly come into its own at this time. The Genoese have used the newfound knowledge of compound materials for bows, learned from fighting the Saracens and Turks in the Crusades, to undertake a renaissance of citizen-soldiers. By adding elements of horn and iron to the traditional wood of a bow, archers can fire volleys with greater range and force than ever before. The Genoese have applied these lessons to crossbows primarily, as they are the prime infantry weapons for defending or attacking a city, as well as against pirates or corsairs at sea. Genoese crossbowmen have quickly become the standard of crossbow excellence, and have hired themselves out to many of the lords of Europe rich enough to pay them, especially to the kings of France. The life of a mercenary has become so lucrative for Genoese soldiers that the republic usually needs to pay extra to keep soldier companies in its service.

But then, this additional cost is of little concern for the republic. Wealth truly flows through Genoa. It has begun to make use of the budding merchant class to build and staff banks, which Genoa uses with a great deal of influence from nearby Florence, which is becoming a powerful banking center. Genoa is also a great trade hub of the Western Mediterranean, and their fleets ply the trade routes throughout the region. However, Genoese trade dominance is not nearly as powerful as their rival mercantile city-state, Venice. Genoa has watched the actions of Venice during the Fourth Crusade with a great amount of disgust; not only did Venice hijack the crusade from its goal of liberating Jerusalem, but it used the fruits of its treachery to secure trade rights through the Constantinople trade route! As the old saying goes, though, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Genoa would do well to ally itself with one or all of the various Byzantine successor states. This should be done if for no other reason than to secure those primary trade rights for themselves when the Greeks retake Constantinople.

There are also opportunities aplenty available for Genoa throughout the Western Mediterranean. The Holy Roman Empire is about to launch into a destructive war with France, and perhaps now the time is right for Genoa to liberate Milan and re-establish the Lombard League that defeated the legendary German Emperor, Friedrich Barbarossa. From there, it would be a small matter to show Venice the depths of Genoa's wrath. Venetian militias would prove no match for the powerful crossbows of Genoa. On the water, Corsica and Sardinia would be natural additions to Genoese territory, and Genoa could also come to the aid of the Christian kingdoms of Iberia against the Saracen threat there.

[warman222]

I must say you've put a lot of research into these things. It's awesome! I need to look back and read the ones you did for the other nations to see how I can use your research to adjust the rosters a bit. Because right now Western Europe is very much Medieval 2 like. Many of the units available are not exclusive to one nation. England, France and HRE all have around 3-4 exclusive units only. The rest are either low tier light units or medium tier mercenary units. Combined it adds up to a dozen units. Is there anything I've overlooked?

I am also trying to fix an issue that people have with some of my videos. The cropping and quality. I toyed around with exporting in Premiere and might of found a good setting plus I added some effects to make it look even better. So anyway here's result, does it look any better guys?

[Lord Giovanni]

If you want to send me a list of the units you've come up with, I'll certainly give my input.

EDIT: And I really like the new video quality too!

[warman222]

Okay here's a list of units I've either had in the pipeline or have a finished depiction. You'll notice it's very Medieval 2 like and yes I'm cheating accuracy in a couple of places. Also this is just the unit plans on my end.

Western European:

All:

Peasants (common folk with daggers)
Armed Peasants (common folk with pitchforks and other such weapons)
Hunters (common folk with bows)
Town Militia (lightly armored spearmen)
Archer Militia (lightly armored archers)
Light Cavalry (a lightly armored cavalry unit, currently throws javelins)

Mercenary Infantry (one handed medium tier unit)
Mercenary Archers (medium tier archer unit)
Mercenary Spearmen (medium tier spear unit)
Mercenary Cavalry (medium tier cavalry unit)
Mercenary Heavy Infantry (medium-heavy tier two handed unit)

Catapult
Trebuchet

England:

Yeomen Archers
Billmen
English Knights

French Nations:

Voulgier
Men at Arms
French Knights

Holy Roman Empire:

Imperial Infantry
Imperial Cavalry
Imperial Knights
Zweihander

Southern Europe:

All:

Communal Militia
Communal Swordsmen
Communal Spearmen
Communal Cavalry
Italian Knights
Italian Archers

Northern Italian Nations:

Bellatorres
Berovieri
Berrovieri Cavalry
Ghibelline Spearmen
Guelphs(unsure of the weapons for these)
Stipendiarii
Arsenalotti

Venice:

Venetian Heavy Infantry

Genoa:

Corsican Guard

Papal States:

Papal Guard

Southern Italian Nations:

Norman Javelinmen
Sicilian-Norman Knights
Sicilian-Norman Soldiers/Squires


So you might of noticed a lot of nations are missing. That's because I haven't gotten to them at all yet. What do you think?

[Lord Giovanni]

That's a good starting list! Here are a few preliminary suggestions for what you have:

For Western European realms:
Castellans: Tier 2 armored spear unit
Squires: Tier 2 armored swordsman unit (though replaced by better versions of it, like Sicilian-Norman Squires)
Have the Light Cavalry use spears as a melee weapon, to make it look lie they keep their last javelin for use in melee

For all Frankish realms (England, France, Sicily, Latin Empire):
Knights Templar
Knights Hospitaller

For England and Wales:
Daggermen (Tier 1 light infantry armed with daggers, replacing Peasants- they are very powerful when flanking armored infantry, but will get butchered in almost any other scenario)

For France:
Crossbow Militia (Tier 2 basic archery unit)

For HRE:
Halberdiers (Tier 3, armored) (these were essentially limited to Germany and Switzerland in this timeframe)
Ghibelline Spearmen (AOR Italian provinces)
Teutonic Knights

For Genoa:
Genoese Compound Bowmen (Tier 2 light archer with a bit more spine and better bows than your average peasant)
Genoese Crossbowmen (Tier 2 medium crossbowmen)
Genoese Arbalesters (Tier 3 heavy crossbowmen)

For Mercenaries:
Genoese Crossbow Mercenaries (AOR In Lombardia and Provincia provinces)
Swiss Halberdier Mercenaries (AOR: Switzerland and all provinces bordering it)

For Italian nations (Venice, Genoa, Sicily, Latin Empire):
Remove the Ghibelline Spearmen and make the Guelphs medium spear units.
Communal Pikemen (Tier 4 medium pike unit, symbolizing how Italians adopted pike warfare only in the late middle ages)

For Sicily:
Sicilian Compound Bowmen (Tier 3, long ranged archers in medium armor, better than the Genoese variety)

Crossbowmen will, of course, be dependent on when we can get the animations for loading and firing a crossbow in.

[Jezza93]

Only the Kingdom of Jerusalem/Acre should have access to the templars/hospitallers. Having them fighting in a European army is ridiculous. Teutones, well I'm not sure if they even existed at this point.

I would personally think the templars should be the best cavalry in the game, but limited to 5 units and 10 templar sergeant cavalry units, same for hospitallers but I'make the unit size itself smaller.

[Lord Giovanni]

What makes it ridiculous? The orders had chapter houses across Western Europe. But if we were to go with your suggestion that the Templars and Hospitallers be among the most elite cavalry available (which is reasonable), then I would agree that their use should be limited to the crusader states (Kingdom of Jerusalem and Latin Empire, and the minor faction Principality of Antioch). Templars should be more oriented on attacking, while the Hospitallers should have higher defense.

The Teutonic Knights were around 20 years old at this point, having been formed in Acre ca. 1190, and relocating back to Europe by the turn of the century.