Stainless Steel 4.0 and 4.1 requires the official Patch 1.2 for Medieval II Total War.
IMPORTANT: Frequently asked questions and Problem Solutions are answered here:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=110632
Download mirror locations
Mirror #1 Rapidshare
http://rapidshare.com/files/215859459/Stainless_Steel_4.0.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/215854690/Stainless_Steel_4.0.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/215851258/Stainless_Steel_4.1_patch.rar
Mirror #2 Megaupload
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HVBVHOD0
Mirror #3 Torrent
http://www.gameupdates.org/details.php?id=4429
Stainless Steel 4.0 Features
Changes or additions from the previous versions are marked with NEW.
I will try to add screenshots of the mercenaries, map and units tomorrow...
1. The Campaign
NEW The whole game pace is slightly lowered. The default game length is about 350 turns (1.5 years per turn).
However, you have also the option to play the game with the original game length of 225 turns.
Population limits for settlement upgrades raised, building times and costs slightly increased.
Heavy Infantry units are recruitbale later, therefore every faction gets an additional light infantry unit.
1.1 The Campaign Map
- NEW Campaign Map completely resized and reworked
- NEW Slight Map Extension to the north and east
- NEW More space between settlements in order to have more field battles
- NEW Many new details like smoother forests, new rivers, mountains, isles, trade routes...
- NEW Slightly changed borders of all regions in order to make them less noticeable
- NEW About 50 New Provinces, well spreaded and historically correct:
(Exeter, Bari, Oporto, Arta, Barcelona, Belgrade, Balearic Isles, Bryansk, Lyon, Athens, Munster, Ancona, Isle of Lesvos, Warsaw, Diyarbakir, Salzburg, Kirov, Melilla, Salamanca, Groningen, Clermont, Thebes, Mecca, Basra, Astrakhan, Tortosa, El-Oued, Sinop, Norrkoeping, Benghazi, ...)
....additional settlements not listed yet...
- Every Region has its own ressources, including new valuable resources in the "outbacks" of the map.
- NEW Some ressources deleted to make others more valuable
1.2 The New Factions
NEW Kievan Rus
- 8 unique units with unique descriptions
- All units, banners and models reskinned
- Historical Character Names
- Difficult starting position
more information: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=99475
NEW Crown of Aragon
- 5 unique units with unique descriptions
- New historical unit names
- All units, banners and models reskinned
- Historical Character Names
- New Order of Montesa guild
more information: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=104053
Order of the Knights Templar
- 7 Unique Units with new cool Descriptions
- All other units have specific Templar Knight Designs
- Historical Characters and new Templar Knights Events
- New Unique Titles which represent the Templar Hirarchy
- Very different and hard campaign
- NEW Unit roster slightly changed from 3.2
more information: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=86534
1.3 The Campaign AI
NEW Ultimate AI 1.5
more information here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=97021
1.4 The Mercenaries
- Over 15 New mercenaries for the Early and High Medieval Period:
NEW Numidian Cavalry
NEW Sergeant Swordsmen
NEW Hashishim Mercenaries
NEW Viking Mercenaries
NEW Prussian Spearmen
NEW Highland Pikemen
NEW Armenian Infantry
NEW Hunters
NEW Arbalesters
NEW Heavy Axemen
Macemen
English Huscarls
Swabian Swordsmen
Andalusian Infantry
Mercenary Saracens
NEW Brigandine Crossbowmen
Axemen
...some more will follow...
- NEW New and more varied mercenary pools
- Greater mercenary variety
- Mercenaries have more experience
- Less mercenary missile units
- Regions have more of mercenary special units
1.5 Improved and challenging AI Armies
- Proper Mix of Infantry, Missiles, Cavalry and Artillery.
- AI produces more Elite and Heavy units.
This was done without changing any unit costs
1.6 New Traits, Ancillaries, Titles and RPG elements
- NEW Titles for all Cities and Castles and for both Islamic and Catholic/Orthodox factions and with important bonuses in various settlements.
- NEW Army attrition and supply system demands much more tactical decisions and religion is much more important (Byg's Reality traits)
Watch and take care of your general and his army!
- NEW Countless new Traits, Transferable Titles, Ancillaries (Blood, Broads, & Bastards 2.x)
more information here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=102277
- New Patriarch titles for Orthodox Factions available
- Many broken Character Traits and Ancillaries fixed
- New Knights Templar Titles
1.7 Much more interesting Historical and Game Events
- Events for Orders, Inquisitions, Cultur, Battles...
- NEW Events when a princess comes of age or when a monarch dies; many different portraits of beautiful and less beautiful princesses
- NEW Including New Era Events which affect unit & mercenary recruitment
- NEW Events who inform about the fall of any faction's capital cities.
1.8 Agents and Characters
- NEW Historically accurate Character Names (CNP 3.0)
- NEW Reasonable limits for assassins, spies and priests
- Merchants income increased, movement increased
- Inquisitors less effective
- NEW Spy's chances decreased, movement greatly increased
- Princesses movement increased, more charming
- Diplomats movement increased
- Priests movement increased
- Captains are less likely to rebel
- NEW Assasins slightly improved, movement increased
- Imam's required Piety to call a Jihad raised
- Slightly less Heretics and Rebels
- Little more Witches
1.9 Settlement and Unit Recruitment Changes
- NEW Important medieval Cities like Constantinople, Kiev, Rome and Paris more powerful
- More logical recruitment, for example cities can build more ships & artillery than castles.
- Fortesses/Citadels & Large/Huge Cities have 4-5 recruitment slots
- Castles-Citadels have 1-2 free upkeep
- City growth slightly reduced
- Slightly lowered law bonus in cities
- NEW Slightly increased the distance to capital punishment
- NEW Iron mines fixed, mine Income slightly increased
- NEW Tax Income slightly decreased
- NEW Unit recruitment depends on barracks and armorers
- Early/Late Generals rarely recruitable in castles/citadels
- Byzantium can build Highways
- Added Missing Units:
Dismounted Gothic Knights
English Armored Sergeants
Dismounted Broken Lances
Hussars for Hungary
Added Mounted Longbowmen for custom battles
- Added Additional Units:
Dismounted Order Knights
Dismounted Armored Clergy
NEW Greek Arquebusiers for Byzantium
NEW Guard Pikemen for Byzantium
NEW Desert Raiders for Moors and Egypt
NEW Scottish Arqeubusiers
- NEW Missing triggers for Swordsmith guilds fixed
- NEW Triggers slightly changed to have more varied guilds
Other Changes
- Historically more accurate Faction Names
- Win Conditions distended to 55 regions
- Date is shown as years
- Conquering the Aztecs is much harder
- NEW More balanced money Script to support AI Factions
2.0 Battles
- NEW 10 new Custom Battle Maps
- NEW Darth Mod 1.4B battle AI and physics
- NEW More balanced units stats and costs
- Longer Lasting Battles due to slightly higher morale
- NEW More realistic battle map movement
- NEW Artillery crews reduced, morale lowered
- (Great) Bombards, Serpentins can deploy Stakes
- Strenght of Gates slightly increased
- Ballista/Cannon Towers fixed
- NEW More Archers can deploy stakes
- All Longbowmen ranges increased
3.0 Graphics
- Completely new Faction Symbols & Menu Designs by Alletun
- NEW 20 new epic loading screens
- NEW New Symbols for the battle map
- NEW New unique Shield textures for all catholic factions
- New unique Unit Textures for all European Early & High units (Burrek)
- New unique Unit Textures for all Feudal & Mailed Knights (Knights&Knaves)
- NEW New unique unit textures for all Order Knights armor upgrades
- NEW High quality unit textures & banners for Byzantium (DG's One Faction At A Time)
- NEW New unit textures and banners for Hungary (Magyar Mod + own additions and improvements)
- NEW New historical accurate faction banners and banners for special units (Kings Banner 2.0)
- Campaign Map Banners for Scotland, France, Poland historically accurate
- More spectacular Sky variations and little more blood (improved Horsearcher's skymod)
- Improved Captain models (plasticfigurine)
- Improved Musket & Artillery Smoke (Headlock)
Stainless Steel 4.1 Patch Features
4.1 Changes & Bug fixes
Changes
- Real Combat 1.21
- Lusted's battle AI
- Vanilla campaign AI
- New Polish Banners
- Laca's Byzantine Heavy Spearmen added
- Varangian Archer's missing swords and shields fixed
- Latinkon fixed
- Recruitable Generals and Grand Bombard for Kiev
- Hungarian Dismounted Chivalric Knights added
- Gaining command stars slightly easier
- Overconfidence and Dishonour traits disabled
- Several other trait changes
- Small Unit and ship recruitment changes
- Haji to Mecca and Medina triggers fixed
- Money reduced
- Less heretics and witches
- Many other small tweaks
- Desktop icon added
Fixed Bugs
- Road system and missing roads fixed
- All ressources reachable
- Missing ports fixed
- Missing Videos fixed
- Pathfinding problems in sieges fixed
- Accents fixed
- Model file errors fixed
- Missing/wrong unit cards and descriptions fixed
- Many other smaller and bigger bugs fixed
- Several Crash to desktop problems fixed
Important Note:
The 4.1 patch is save-game compatible with 4.0.
But: Many changes (like missing roads and ports) are only enabled with a new camapign.
Also through the diplomacy changes and unit cost stats a continued campaign may have a serious effect on the campaign.
Therfore I wouuld recommend to start a new campaign after installing the 4.1 patch..
Appendix
A very BIG Thanks goes to: (in no particular order)
- Alletun for making beautiful symbols and designs for my mod
- Student for his help and research on the Knights Templar
- Disgruntled Goat for his outstanding unit textures
- Darth Vader for his battle AI and physics
- Grand Viz for his Ultimate AI
- Yuiis, shaeffer, numerosdecimus, M2_Junky for their great contributions
- Byg for his Reality traits
- Horsearcher, Ziher, Plasticfigurine, Salty, Headlock for their graphical improvements
- Burrek for his unique European textures
- Joe Dreck for his Kings Banner mod
- Dearmad and Pnutmaster for BBB
- All others who contributed in the Stainless Steel forum
..for the help with the 4.1 patch:
- Lusted, Klink and DrJambo for their battle AI
- Quark and shaeffer for being a great help
- Nerazzurri for the Movies fix and the Stainless Steel icon.
- Tyre for some of his new skins
- All others for their feedback and bug reports
Thank you mates!
little sidenote:
throuh the advice of repman, the donate link was removed.