Medieval 2 Lite Mod - ONLY FOR M2TW 1.2

[Candelarius]

Medieval II Lite Mod
by Candelarius, aka, Yakaspat
Version 2c
Requires official 1.2 patch


This is a very, very basic "bug fixer" mod that fixes a few minor issues that were not corrected in the official 1.2 patch and a few balancing corrections.


THIS MOD IS ONLY FOR THE OFFICIAL 1.2 PATCH.
THIS IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE 1.3 PATCH OR KINGDOMS!
FOR MY MORE UPDATED MOD, GO HERE.


Change log
1. Includes several balance corrections:
-Janissary Heavy Infantry given +6 attack, +7 defense skill
-ME Halberd Militia given +4 attack, +2 defense skill
-Western Halberd units/Voulgiers etc. given +2 to primary and secondary attack
-Pikemen given +2 to collision mass
-2handed sword units gvien +2 attack and ap to primary weapon
2. All factions unlocked.
3. Additional merc unit selection for custom battles only.
4. Adds "missing" English Armored Sergeants, HRE Dismounted Gothic Knights, and Venician Dismounted Broken Lances to the campaign game.

Installation
1. Install patch 1.2 over vanilla Medieval II Total War. You do not need to unpack the game files.
2. Use the m2litemod self-installer to install the mod.
3. Use the new desktop shortcut to launch the game when you wish to play the mod.

NOTE: If you have unpacked the game files, the following unpacked files will cause the game to crash and must be deleted before the game is launched:
data\descr_geography_new.txt
data\descr_geography_new.db

NOTE: This mod does not use a mod switch folder as it is only two key files. I provided backup copies of the unmodded files, simply rename name by removing the .bak extension if you wish to uninstall this mod.



DOWNLOAD LINK download link currently unavailable, only the older version of this mod is online, see links below


Credits
Thanks to Spurius for instructions on how to make an .exe file and thanks to Lusted for his contributions to the M2TW community and his Lands to Conquer Mod, and for sharing his knowledge with the community. And, of course, thanks to Creative Assembly for an excellent game!




Old Version for leaked 1.2 patch
Version 2b (for leaked patch 1.2 only):
http://files.filefront.com/m2litemod.../fileinfo.html

Old Readme for M2TW leaked 1.2 patch(click spoiler button)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Medieval II Lite Mod
by Candelarius, aka, Yakaspat
Version 2b
Requires leaked patch 1.2

This is a very basic "bug fixer" mod that fixes a few minor issues that were not corrected in the leaked 1.2 patch. This mod is intended to be a "bug fixer" mod, and not a "balancing mod", except in cases where certain units are obviously completely useless due to poor balancing, like Jannisary Heavy Infantry. Aside from that, I solely intend to focus on fixing obvious, blatant bugs or errors that CA clearly overlooked in their lastest patch.

Below is a list of all changes made in this mod. I have avoided including any changes that are subjective in nature. For example, I have included no diplomacy changes, income changes, etc. I did not include any balancing changes, with the only exception to this is that I included Lusted's EDU changes for pikemen and 2-hand units, as with the leaked 1.2 patch they became terribly underpowered. The entire change log for the mod is listed below. Nothing else was changed, literally.

THIS MOD IS ONLY FOR THE LEAKED 1.2 PATCH

Change log
1. Includes Venetian Archer and Heavy Infantry fix (armor upgrades were reversed).
2. Includes English Retinue Archer armor upgrade fix (armor upgrades were in wrong order).
3. Includes zxiang1983's ballista/cannon tower fix.
4. Includes Lusted's EDU balance corrections:
-Janissary Heavy Infantry given +6 attack, +7 defense skill
-ME Halberd Militia given +4 attack, +2 defense skill
-Western Halberd units/Voulgiers etc. given +2 to primary and secondary attack
-Pikemen given +2 to collision mass
-2handed sword units gvien +2 attack and ap to primary weapon
5. All factions unlocked.
6. Additional merc unit selection for custom battles only.
7. Adds "missing" English Armored Sergeants, HRE Dismounted Gothic Knights, and Venician Dismounted Broken Lances to the campaign game.

Installation
1. Install patch 1.2 over vanilla Medieval II Total War. You do not need to unpack the game files.
2. Use the m2litemod self-installer to install the mod.
3. Use the new desktop shortcut to launch the game when you wish to play the mod.

NOTE: If you have unpacked the game files, the following unpacked files will cause the game to crash and must be deleted before the game is launched:
data\descr_geography_new.txt
data\descr_geography_new.db


Illustration of Venetian Armor problem
In the vanilla game, the visual representation of the initial unit is more advanced than the visual representation of the upgraded unit. I have reversed the armor upgrades so the unit's armor upgrade looks more appropriate.

This is the initial, un-upgraded unit in the vanilla game. Notice the unit looks visually heavily armored. Click to enlarge.


This is the upgraded unit in the vanillia game. Notice the unit is visually less armored. Click to enlarge.




Credits
Thanks to Spurius for instructions on how to make an .exe file and thanks to Lusted for his contributions to the M2TW community and his Lands to Conquer Mod, which was my inspiration (and how I learned to make this mod) for this small little mod project. Thanks to zxiang1983 for his tower fix. And, of course, thanks to Creative Assembly for an excellent game!

Old Version for 1.1
Version 1h (for patch 1.1):
http://files.filefront.com/m2litemod.../fileinfo.html


Old Readme for M2TW 1.1 (click spoiler button)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Medieval 2 Lite Mod
by 'candelarius', aka 'yakaspat'
Version 1h


This is a very basic mod that fixes a few minor issues that were not corrected in the 1.1 patch. This mod is intended to be a "bug fixer" mod, and not a "balancing mod". I solely intend to focus on fixing obvious, blatant bugs or errors that CA clearly overlooked in their last patch. This mod does not change the number of turns or years, as this mod is concerned only with bug fixing...but feel free to mod that in yourself if you please.

Below is a list of all changes made in this mod. I have avoided including any changes that are subjective in nature. For example, I have included no balance changes, diplomacy changes, income changes, etc, except in cases I that required stat changes to accomodate a bug-fix, as in the 2-hand animation bug and shield-bug fixes. The only exception to this rule is that I made all factions playable, simply because I had initially included that fix accidentally, and, based on feedback from the community, I decided to leave it in.

Change Log:

• Adds English Armored Sergeants, HRE Dismounted Gothic Knights, and Venician Dismounted Broken Lances to the campaign game.
• Includes zxiang1983's Two-handed unit animation fix (some units that use two-handed weapons didn't function properly).
• Includes Lusted's Venetian Archer and Heavy Infantry armor upgrade fix.
• All factions are unlocked.
• Includes zxiang1983's ballista/cannon tower fix.
• Includes various corrections to the traits file (export_descr_character_traits.txt). Corrections include the following:

1. Added triggers to princess traits.
2. Corrected error where Great Cathedral doesn't grant bishop trait.
3. Corrected error where "BoringSpeaker" trait had no effects.
4. Corrected error where "WifeIsFertile" trait only effected admirals and not other family members.
5. Corrected error where "ReligionStarter" trait wasn't available to family members.
6. Corrected error where "LoyaltyStarter" trait wasn't available to family members.
7. Corrected error where Orthodox factions could not acquire bishops.
8. Corrected issue where generals governing castles could easily acquire "BadTaxman" trait (Trigger governing19).

• Includes various corrections to the ancillaries file (export_descr_ancillaries.txt). Corrections include the following:

1. Reduced chances of generals acquiring pagan magician ancillary.
2. Corrected error where non-Christian generals could acquire Crusader ancillaries.
3. Corrected error that made Christian factions have "slaver" ancillary and not Mesoamericans (should be opposite).
4. Removed block that prevented European factions from acquiring basic ancillaries. For example, many ancillaries include this block: ExcludeCultures northern_european, mesoamerican. However, it seems clear that the block was meant only for Mesoamericans, and not Europeans (example: spymaster ancillary, treasurer, architect, etc).
5. Removed block that prevented Greek-culture characters from acquiring eunuch ancillary (they were strangely excluded whereas other factions were not).
6. Corrected error where non-Christian factions could acquire ancillary "Peter the Hermit".

• Added shield-bug fix by Foz.
• Nothing else is changed. Literally.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

1. See the readme.txt included for detailed install instructions and important info. I will not answer any questions that are answered in the readme or on this page.
2. This mod uses the mod switch protocol. To run the mod, use the Launch_m2litemod.bat in your Medieval II directory or the desktop shortcut provided by the installer.
3. In order to see any FMV video sequences, you'll need to copy your FMV folder from Program Files\SEGA\Medieval II Total War\data, to Program Files\Sega\Medieval II Total War\m2litemod\data.
4. In order to play historical battles and have all maps available in custom battles, you'll need to copy these folders:
   
   C:\Program Files\SEGA\Medieval II Total War\data\world\maps\battle
   C:\Program Files\SEGA\Medieval II Total War\data\world\maps\Custom
   Into this folder:
   
   C:\Program Files\SEGA\Medieval II Total War\m2litemod\data\world\maps\
5. The new 'unlimited men' commandline switch (which removed the annoying "your machine cannot handle the additional reinforcements message) mentioned in the 1.1 patch readme does not work. Simply open your m2litemod.cfg file and change the unlimited_men line value from 0 to 1.
6. If you have a non-English version of the game, you will need to manually copy the Program Files\SEGA\Medieval II Total War\data\sounds folder to your Program Files\SEGA\Medieval II Total War\m2litemod\data folder.
7. The shield-bug fix has been included as the bug criples shielded units against non-shielded units. For example, Scottish Border Horse light cav decimate armored English Dismounted Knights. Shield value were removed and their values added to other unit values to compensate. Every bug-fixer mod now includes this fix, and it has been recognized and supported by members of the Creative Assembly at the Org Forums. Thanks to Foz for discovering, and fixing, this bug.

Thanks to Spurius for instructions on how to make an .exe file, thanks to Olmsted for his Princess Fix, and thanks to Lusted for his contributions to the M2TW community and his Lands to Conquer Mod, which was my inspiration (and how I learned to make this mod) for this small little mod project. Thanks to zxiang1983 for his tower fix and 2-hand animation fix, and to Godzilla for his 2-hand EDU adjustments. Additional thanks goes to Nebuchadnezzar, SeverdHope, and Orientis for their help with various corrections to the traits and ancillaries files. Special thanks to Fallen.Soldier for this pretty splash screen. Addtional thanks to Foz for his shield-bug fix and to a999 for forcing me to recognize the problem! And, of course, thanks to Creative Assembly for an excellent game!

[Angmar_nite]

candels back in black! I'd check this out but I'm busy...

[JaM]

Hi Candelarius, nice to see you working on M2TW. Do you use fixed EDU with your mod?

[Candelarius]

Hi Candelarius, nice to see you working on M2TW. Do you use fixed EDU with your mod?

What fixed EDU?

[Maizel]

Nice.

Did you change the events dates too?

[JaM]

Cavalry charge and two handed weapons units fix, Lusted made quite a great job with that EDU.

[Candelarius]

Nice.

Did you change the events dates too?

Events are tied to the game date, so therefore do not need to be changed.

[Candelarius]

Cavalry charge and two handed weapons units fix, Lusted made quite a great job with that EDU.

Ahh. No, I didn't include that. I considered doing so, but, the patch will be out soon, so, I thought I'd wait for the official fix instead.

EDIT: Ok, you convinced me (and I figured out how to include the fix). I'm updating my installer now with a new EDU. heehee

[JaM]

1.Animations for some of units is bugged and soldiers dont fight, only commander. So he switched animation type for those units for similar working animation. You wouldnt even notice that unit dont use its original animation...
2.Cavalry charge dont work correctly, as sometimes unit stop charge few meters from targeted unit and start reforming. But if you double charge distance value in EDU, everything will work as it should.

[JaM]

oh, ok. Hope that patch will be out soon... but who knows if they will fix all animations problems, and how big file it will be...

[Candelarius]

1.Animations for some of units is bugged and soldiers dont fight, only commander. So he switched animation type for those units for similar working animation. You wouldnt even notice that unit dont use its original animation...
2.Cavalry charge dont work correctly, as sometimes unit stop charge few meters from targeted unit and start reforming. But if you double charge distance value in EDU, everything will work as it should.

Both your points will be addressed in the patch, which is due out any time now. I'll update this with the official patch, of course.

I'm sure there are many many many things that could be tweaked. But, I really just intend this little baby mod to be a mod that only increases build times so one can play with the 1 turn system better. I through in the few units I did because it is obvious to me that CA simply forgot to include them, and the princess fix is also something they obviously forgot (an official Admin actually put out the fix). So, I really don't intend for this to become a general "bug fix" mod, just a little itty bitty mod...this is how I'm playing the game right now and wanted to share. You're welcome, of course, to tweak things however you like.

EDIT: Ooops, just saw your other reply. ;-)

Thanks for your comments!

EDIT: ok, you convinced me! I added the new EDU to my mod. ;-)

[Soldato]

Is this compatible with other mods? Is there a way to install this with ModManager?

[Candelarius]

Is this compatible with other mods?

This mod uses the mod switch protocol. So yes, as long as you install the other mods with the mod switch correctly, it's compatible. This mod will install itself as it's own mod subfolder and own start-up .bat.

Is there a way to install this with ModManager?

I have no idea, I've never used ModManger. I would ask the ModManger folks.

Cheers,
Candel

[Maizel]

The Medmanager is very similar to the modswitch feature. Yes it will.

[Preskinn]

This is exactly the kind of mod we need man

[Maizel]

You havent changed the building costs?

[Candelarius]

Actually, I think there is a typo somewhere, people at the official site were reporting crashes with this mod. I don't have time to fix it right now, so, I'm just taking the mod down for the time being. Once the patch is out, I'll redo it.

Thanks for the interest, stay tuned!

EDIT: I found the problem. duh. Typo fixed. Mod should be fine now. I'm re-uploading it right now. Feel free to download again any time after 9:37pm Eastern Time (US East Coast). I'll also update this once the patch comes out.

[Candelarius]

You havent changed the building costs?

No, I didn't change building cost. I just changed those few things mentioned in the readme. That's all folks.

[selenius4tsd]

Thanks alot mate!

[Black-]

will there be a version without turn / builiding changes but with all other fixes? in my oppinion you can't only change building times while you earn twice more money each 2 years. money is turn based... so you will end up with longer building times, but will be able to build double sized armies overall. income needs to be changed too or this will resulut in a battle-only game cuz money is the limiting factor and not building time. there are alot of free training slots in my cities which remained empty. this will change using this mod :/ so this mod can be considered as a "more action" mod with bugfixing.