[Updated 30/09/2015 - Changelog in First Post] A NEW BEGINNING - Alterations to the Sassanid Empire and the East V1.4.5

[The Iron Chancellor]

Salutations!

Attached, you will find a mod the aim of which is to force some change to the eastern portion of the Grand Campaign map. Alterations have been made to the composition of the Sassanid Empire, it's starting relations, allies and vassals.

Also, this is my first mod outside of name changing fragments, so any feedback is most welcome!

Current Version (1.4.5)
Sassanid Empire:

• Redistribution of the territories formerly belonging to Vassals of the Sassanid Empire: Abarshahr, Aria and Atropatene no longer exist. Merv (formerly of Parthia) also belongs to the Sassanid Empire.
• The division of Armenia: Tosp now belongs to the Eastern Roman Empire while Paytakaran belongs to the Sassanid Empire; Armenia retains Duin but is itself a tributary state of the Romans. I have done this to represent something of a power struggle within Armenia - while not ideal, this does allow for the Romans and Persians to construct religious buildings that will create tension and gives both superpowers a reason to fight in the Caucasus. Added Levy Camp to Paytakaran. Further, changed CAI personality of Armenia from unreliable normal to unreliable hard. With this change, Armenia is far less likely to involve itself in Sassanid aggression. This doesn't work as well as I'd like, currently, due to the Sassanids and Armenia both being at war with the Budinians and Sabirs.
• The Afrigids are no longer Military Allies of the Sassanid Empire and the Lakhmids, Mazun and Makran are no longer Vassal states. The Lakhmids and Mazun are Defensive Allies instead.
• Arran and Parthia are the only Sassanid Vassals (with one region each). Arran and Mazun begin the game with less units in their starting armies.
• Sassanid Empire starting treasury lowered to 8000 (difficulty modifier will affect this).
• Sassanids now begin the game at war with the Budinians and Sabirs; both of whom share a Military Alliance. In the year 395, the Huns launched an invasion of Arsoristan - devastating the countryside and making off with riches. As they simultaneously attack the Eastern Roman Empire, it would be infeasible to represent this with simply the Huns at war with both as they may even get destroyed. Therefore, I have settled for a compromise - the Budinians and Sabirs will be stand-ins for the Huns. This will hopefully solve the problem of the Sassanids having nothing to occupy themselves with for a little while.
• Changed Bahram's starting traits. He now has Unjust, Harsh and Out of Favour. Changed Yazdegerd's starting traits. He now also has Taxman in addition to Hates War and Honest.
• Sassanid Empire map and uniform (including faction leader) colours changed (crimson, white and wine red).
  

Hephthalites:

• They begin the game north of Parthia and start at war with Makran.
  
• Faction Leader has traits to encourage conflict with the Sassanid Empire and begins the game with the Steppe Warlord bodyguard unit.
• Has negative relations with the Sassanid Empire.
• Powerful starting army.
• They belong to the Eastern sub-culture but with Hunnic voice-overs and their faction map colour is white.

Eastern Roman Empire:

• Edited building composition in Constantinople. Upgraded Aqueduct to Level 3 and Governor's Building to Level 5 (Legendary). This means the Imperial Palace is there from the start. By extension, this can mean the circumventing of the religious technologies.
• Added Military Building level 1 to Ephesus in Asia Minor - the historical recruiting ground for the Romans.
• Added minor Greek Christian religious building to Tosp, which now belongs to the Eastern Roman Empire (see changes under "Sassanid Empire" for more info).
• Edited building composition in Aegyptus: Both farms start out as Wheat Farms (Level 2).
• Starting treasury increased to 15000
• Armenia begins the game as a Roman tributary state to better reflect the time period.

EXTRA:

Western Roman Empire:

• Begins the game with Ravenna as the capital city until CA implement a way to change capital mid-game. If ever.
  
• Changed Stilicho's starting traits. He now starts with Intelligent and Loyal in addition to Understands Strategy. He also begins the game in the (Western) Supreme Commander Position. His starting army composition has been altered slightly as well and he begins the game with the "Magister Militum" bodyguard unit.
  
• Starting treasury increased to 15000.
  

Other:

• Vandals do not start the game at war with the Alamans.
• The Alans do not start at war with the Eastern Roman Empire and have a Defensive Alliance with the Vandals.
• Hephthalite Empire "added" into the game! (they replace the Afrigihds)

Changelog:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Version I.IV.V:
Bug Fixes:

• Fixed incompatibility with Fall of the Eagles mod.
• Fixed issue where Huns could not recruit units.
• Fixed issue where the Hephthalites could not construct buildings.
• Fixed issue where changes to Sassanid colour-scheme would be overwritten by other mods.

Changes:

• Armenia is no longer a Sassanid Vassal: it is now a Roman tributary state as this better reflects the time period.
• Changed starting army composition for Armenia and the Hephthalites.

Version I.IV:

• Hephthalite Empire now belongs to the Hunnic sub culture. Map colour changed to white.
• Sassanid Empire map and uniform (including faction leader) colours changed (crimson, white and wine red).
  
  
• Version I.III:
• Bug Fixes:
• Budinians and Sabirs now correctly show as Military Allies.
• Name of the New White Hun ruler now shows correctly.
  
  
• Changes:
• Sassanid Empire:
• Sassanid Empire starting treasury lowered to 8000 (difficulty modifier will affect this).
• No longer begin at war with the Magyars.
• Lower starting relations with Makran and the new Hephthalite Empire.
  
  
• Hephthalite Empire "added" into the game!
• They begin the game at war with Makran, have negative relations with the Sassanid Empire and their ruler begins with the Steppe Warlord bodyguard and traits that should encourage war with the Sassanids. They begin the game with a powerful starting army.
  
  Version I.II:

• Sassanid Empire:
• Changed Bahram's starting traits. He now has Unjust, Harsh and Out of Favour.
• Changed Yazdegerd's starting traits. He now also has Taxman in addition to Hates War and Honest.
• Arran and Mazun begin the game with less units in their starting armies.
• East Roman Empire:
• Edited building composition in Constantinople. Upgraded Aqueduct to Level 3 and Governor's Building to Level 5 (Legendary). This means the Imperial Palace is there from the start. By extension, this can mean the circumventing of the religious technologies. Taken back Orthodox See building to Level 3.
• Edited building composition in Aegyptus: Both farms start out as Wheat Farms (Level 2).
• Western Roman Empire:
• Begins the game with Ravenna as the capital city until CA implement a way to change capital mid-game. If ever.
• Changed Stilicho's starting traits. He now also starts with Intelligent and Loyal.

Version I.I:
Bug Fixes:

• Changed minor building settlement chain from Eastern to Eastern Roman in the settlement of Tosp.
• Fixed issue where Arran did not properly work as a Sassanid Vassal.
  
  Changes:
• Eastern Roman Empire:
• No longer start at war with the Alans.
• Upgraded Patriarchal See building in Constantinople to level 4 to reflect the Hagia Sophia.
• Removed Military Building level 1 from Constantinople and replaced it with Aqueduct level 2 to reflect the Valens Aqueduct.
• Added Military Building level 1 to Ephesus in Asia Minor - the historical recruiting ground for the Romans.
• Added minor religious building to Tosp.
• Sassanid Empire:
• Sassanids now begin the game at war with the Sabirs, Budinians and Magyars; all of whom have a military alliance together. In the year 395, the Huns launched an invasion of Arsoristan - devastating the countryside and making off with riches. As they simultaneously attack the Eastern Roman Empire, it would be infeasible to represent this with simply the Huns at war with both as they may even get destroyed. Therefore, I have settled for a compromise - the Sabirs, Budinians and Magyars will be stand-ins for the Huns.
• Changed CAI personality of Armenia from unreliable normal to unreliable hard. With this change, Armenia is far less likely to involve itself in Sassanid aggression and, in my tests, frequently declares independence.
• Extra:
• Vandals no longer begin the game at war with the Alamans. They also have a defensive alliance with the Alans.

I. Colour change - done.
II. Continue working on the White Huns.
III. Bug fixes.
IV. Possibly give the Sassanid Empire the "Fractured Faiths" faction trait.

Compatibility:
Anything that does not alter the startpos, unless this mod loads first.

Download Version 1.4.5:
Mediafire:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/ek...ing+V1.4.5.rar

Steam:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile.../?id=524655112

Installation instructions:
Download A New Beginning.rar
Unzip to the Attila Data folder.
Ensure this mod loads first by renaming it if necessary.

[lavez]

Fantastic idea. I'll give it a try as soon as I have the time.

[The Iron Chancellor]

Thank you very much. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Further, I have updated the mod with two fixes and numerous changes if you'd care to have a gander.

[LeNaasher]

Good changes,is it still possible to free for example Atropanthene or are they completely gone?
Doesyou mod works with FOTE or CAI?

[The Iron Chancellor]

It should be possible as they exist within the startpos, they just don't begin already established. They should function like Judea or Persia.

Yes, it should be compatible with FOTE as that mod does not alter the same startpos entries, if any. I would personally recommend it and Imperiales Economy Bronze for use with this mod.

As far as More Aggressive CAI goes, I'm not sure. If you do play with it, play with the load order.

[The Iron Chancellor]

First post updated with changes applied in Version 1.2. Enjoy! Download now in zip format.

[OkkeB]

Thanks love this mod. Was lookign for something to make sassanid start a bit harder, this helps since now its possible, as desert state, to break away!

[OkkeB]

interesting developments in my Himyar campaign. ERE and Sassanids are working together xD. 60 turns in and ERE is still nr2, with sass nr1, me nr3 and wre nr4 xD

[Ritsu]

Very nice mod! I've been looking for mod like this for a long time! Thank you, Iron Chancellor!
I noticed one little discord. It is said in change log that Budinians, Magyars and Sabirs should all have military alliance together, but I noticed that Budinians and Magyars do not have military alliance.

[The Iron Chancellor]

Thanks love this mod. Was lookign for something to make sassanid start a bit harder, this helps since now its possible, as desert state, to break away!

Thank you very much! I'm glad that you're enjoying it.

interesting developments in my Himyar campaign. ERE and Sassanids are working together xD. 60 turns in and ERE is still nr2, with sass nr1, me nr3 and wre nr4 xD

Really? We've inadvertently achieved the impossible! Are you still playing that campaign? If so, how is it progressing?

Very nice mod! I've been looking for mod like this for a long time! Thank you, Iron Chancellor!
I noticed one little discord. It is said in change log that Budinians, Magyars and Sabirs should all have military alliance together, but I noticed that Budinians and Magyars do not have military alliance.

Thank you.

The issue with the Budini and Magyars has been solved. I've taken the Magyars out of the equation for now until I decide on what to do with them. I'll be uploading V1.4 shortly! It has a few new changes (such as adding a jury-rigged Hephthalite Empire and changing the Sasanian uniform colours.

Edit: Just noticed that I forgot to upload 1.3... d'oh. Changes and bug fixes from 1.3 will go into the changelog.

[almas1985]

Thank you.

[OkkeB]

Really? We've inadvertently achieved the impossible! Are you still playing that campaign? If so, how is it progressing?

couple hunderd turns further, ere, me and sassanids are the only three real powers (+10 states). I have all of North afrika and spain and some bits of france, ERE retook Italy and large part of france, and still holds turkey, and Sassanids took eastern half of the map, crushed their earlier allies and is currently nr 3, currently fighting a joined war vs the huns and the picts and some smaller empires. Quite fun. Do have to pay almost 15000 a turn to the sassanids to keep them friendly Huns are quite easy though, me and the sassinids have a couple of stacks in old greece and keep them contained.

[OkkeB]

• Future Plans:

I. Alter the colour of clothing worn by Sassanid Generals/Ruler to be red. I don't know how to do this, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

I found this: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...-Leaders-Mod-2
in this leader pack the sassanids faction leader has a red costume, maybe ask KLAssurbanipal how to do this for your mod or if you can use it for yours?

[The Iron Chancellor]

Thank you.

You're welcome!

couple hunderd turns further, ere, me and sassanids are the only three real powers (+10 states). I have all of North afrika and spain and some bits of france, ERE retook Italy and large part of france, and still holds turkey, and Sassanids took eastern half of the map, crushed their earlier allies and is currently nr 3, currently fighting a joined war vs the huns and the picts and some smaller empires. Quite fun. Do have to pay almost 15000 a turn to the sassanids to keep them friendly Huns are quite easy though, me and the sassinids have a couple of stacks in old greece and keep them contained.

Hmm, that sounds like quite an interesting game. Have the Romans and Sassanids fought at all?

I found this: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...-Leaders-Mod-2
in this leader pack the sassanids faction leader has a red costume, maybe ask KLAssurbanipal how to do this for your mod or if you can use it for yours?

Thank you for the link But I should have changed the future plans bit! I had been using that, but I've managed to figure out the tables that manipulate uniform and map colour, so the Sassanids are now red, white and... red. There are only three columns, you see, and I cannot texture! KLA's skin is much better, though.

[OkkeB]

Hmm, that sounds like quite an interesting game. Have the Romans and Sassanids fought at all?

Well I fought the ERE since i wanted egypt and judea (to get a sea port) but was able to bribe them into peace. Sassanids and ERE didnt fight at all, just Sasanids taking the provinces the ERE lost in the east, giving ERE the space to expand west. Quite a lot of fun, already terrified for the moment im gonna declare war on them xD.

[The Iron Chancellor]

Mod updated! Links updated and alterations added to changelog. Enjoy!

Version I.IV.V:
Bug Fixes:

• Fixed incompatibility with Fall of the Eagles mod.
• Fixed issue where Huns could not recruit units.
• Fixed issue where the Hephthalites could not construct buildings.
• Fixed issue where changes to Sassanid colour-scheme would be overwritten by other mods.

Changes:

• Armenia is no longer a Sassanid Vassal: it is now a Roman tributary state as this better reflects the time period.
• Changed starting army composition for Armenia and the Hephthalites.

[Aurelius Silvanus Tacitus]

Awesome mod, I really love it.

Is it compatible to the climate change mod and/or radious?

[The Iron Chancellor]

Thank you! I'm glad you like it :-)

I'm not sure about Radious; try manipulating the load order - same for climate change. I've been meaning to test this mod with those.

With regards to climate change, this mod doesn't alter the same startpos entries so it should be fully compatible.

[Aurelius Silvanus Tacitus]

Tested it: with Radious it works with everything except the Roman AoR mods (since both use startpos).

With the climate change mod everything is fine except the startpos: if New Begining is loaded first then the regions have vanilla fertility levels but the rest is the same (thus with reduced fertility effects for buildings). If the climate change mod is loaded first then the Sassanids are a horde again (red one) and worse, the Hephtalites are their allies

[The Iron Chancellor]

Tested it: with Radious it works with everything except the Roman AoR mods (since both use startpos).

With the climate change mod everything is fine except the startpos: if New Begining is loaded first then the regions have vanilla fertility levels but the rest is the same (thus with reduced fertility effects for buildings). If the climate change mod is loaded first then the Sassanids are a horde again (red one) and worse, the Hephtalites are their allies

Thank you, Aurelius.

Update: Sorry for the lack-thereof in recent weeks, but I'm working on a pretty big update at the moment with the help of "The_Yogi" (Steam user) et al. I'll post the proposed changelog below:

There will be two versions: one for vanilla and one balanced for Fall of the Eagles. Turn Per Year and Radious versions are a ways off for the time being.
Vanilla:

• My Last Roman Foederati Pack: Allows East/West Roman to recruit Foederati Swords, Horse Archers and Cavalry from The Last Roman and East Roman to recruit Foederati Spears and Noble Javelinmen.
• My Last Roman Greek Units Pack: Allows East Rome late game access to Justinian era units in place of earlier Late Roman units - Antesignani (renamed to Spathatoi), Scoutatoi Spears (renamed to Scoutatoi), Axemen and the Buccalarii units. Guard Cavalry renamed to Strategos and upgrades from the Magister Militum. Palatina Guards removed. Noumeroi, Menaulatoi are unlocked at this point also. Hippo Toxotai replace Equites Sagittarii, TLR Armoured Sagittarii replace regular version.
• Altered unit replacement system implemented for the Romans and Sasanians - at least to begin with.

Eastern Roman Empire:

• Starting treasury rebalanced: lowered from 16000 to 8000.
• Armenia is now a Roman Vassal.
• East Rome now has access to the Garrison and Monument building chains. The Monument chain is unlocked by technology.
• Technology Tree: Rebalance and Renaming of certain technologies, e.g:
• Byzantine State Authority - Roman State Authority: “The throne is a glorious sepulcher.”
• Byzantine Bureaucracy - Great Bureaucratic Reforms: "Justice is the constant and perpetual wish to render to every one his due."
• Language of Comradeship - Lingua Romana: When Constantinople stands alone, a new military language is needed.
• Legacy Technology can be re-enabled.
• Uniform colours altered and inclusion of Little_Legionaire's Coloured Spears mod.

Sasanian Empire:

• Changed from "Sassanid" to "Sasanian".
• Makran is once again a Sasanian Vassal.
• Diplomatic relationship with the Hephthalites edited: between battles, raids and sieges, their relationship is truly negative. An invasion is more likely now.

Hephthalites:

• Custom sub-culture: new unit roster (hybrid Eastern/Persian and Nomadic/Hunnic) and technologies.
• As above, they are almost guaranteed to go to war with the Sasanians.
• They are Defensive Allies with the Sabirs and Budinians.
• Starting treasury raised to 10,000

Western Roman Empire:

• Building composition in eastern frontier towns altered: each one contains a Garrison building.
• Diplomatic relationships with the Celts and Germans altered. Initial challenge will come from the Gothic invasion, immigration penalties, public order and economy.
• To begin with, the Caledonians and Picts may fight amongst themselves before invading Roman Britain. In my tests, that usually aligns with an Anglo-Saxon/Jutish invasion.
• Some of the changes to the Eastern Roman Empire will be applied to the West in time.

Other:

• Rebalanced climate change, similar to Magnar's Climate mod.
• Starting treasuries for certain factions raised.

Note:

• Armenia and the Hephthalites should soon be playable. Armenia will posses a custom sub-culture that combines Roman and Armenian units with a few Persian units thrown in. This probably won't be in the next update, but it won't be long.
• Current ETA of this update (jump to version 2.0) will be next Sunday.