Total Vanilla Beyond 3.0 Release - Once more with feeling

[sklvboris]

Hi 4zumi, great mod i've enjoyed an earlier version and now i'm starting a new campaign, so i have a couple of questions. First what is the recommended difficulty?I've started a VH/VH campaign, and for 30 turns i took out Scotland and Ireland as England, at the meantime there was 1 crusade, and except that no other faction went with war with another faction( i believe that's on VH/VH settings but considering all this passive gameplay i'm in doubt if i didn't missclick my difficulty).Or is there a turn number where the AI factions become more agressive? Another question is how strong the mongols are? Honestly i didn't like it when they were unstoppable in an earlier version because it was boring for me to fight endless stacks of mongols. If they are overpowered is there a way to make them weaker, like tweaking some things in the files or something? Are you considering some changes to the mod? I believe that removing the americas and creating another Balkan faction and one more muslim faction in the medditeranean would make things more interesting and challenging. Anyway great work mate

[gbfanjoe08]

Hi 4zumi, great mod i've enjoyed an earlier version and now i'm starting a new campaign, so i have a couple of questions. First what is the recommended difficulty?I've started a VH/VH campaign, and for 30 turns i took out Scotland and Ireland as England, at the meantime there was 1 crusade, and except that no other faction went with war with another faction( i believe that's on VH/VH settings but considering all this passive gameplay i'm in doubt if i didn't missclick my difficulty).Or is there a turn number where the AI factions become more agressive? Another question is how strong the mongols are? Honestly i didn't like it when they were unstoppable in an earlier version because it was boring for me to fight endless stacks of mongols. If they are overpowered is there a way to make them weaker, like tweaking some things in the files or something? Are you considering some changes to the mod? I believe that removing the americas and creating another Balkan faction and one more muslim faction in the medditeranean would make things more interesting and challenging. Anyway great work mate

I have done a few play throughs as different factions with H/H and M/H settings and had similar experiences with a passive AI (in regards to other AI factions)

[4zumi]

@sklvboris

Thanks

There is no recommended difficulty per se. I have balanced it around N/N. As I mostly play with these settings. But I like a casual playstyle after work.

The passive AI I think is due to the new AI. I consider making a tutorial reverting the mod to vanilla Campaign AI. So there will be no long lasting alliances and permanent backstabbing.
(You can try it yourself ba editing a file and deleting some files.)

-Delete descr_diplomacy.xml
-Delete descr_campaign_ai_db.xml
-Edit the descr_strat.txt and set back the ai_label where you finde default ;catholic to just catholic (simply delete "default ;")

Now the Vanilla AI should be restored, with the exception of a few minor tweaks in the descr_campaign_db.xml (but this should be fine)
Please make a backup, I have not tested this.

The Mongols can become very strong and will become very strong. To tweak this, you would have to edit the campaign script and remove the two "Mongol Invasion Scripts" in the code. This way they will not get a noticeable boost and stackspawning once the "invasion warning" triggers.
On VH, they could resemble an unstoppable force.

Besides the mentioned AI changes I do not consider making any other changed to the mod and will leave such things like map changing, faction swapping, etc. top submodders.

@joe

Try the above mentioned changes.

I will work on a "patch" for people that want to revert to the old AI (I think myself included).

[sklvboris]

Thanks for the fast reply i changed some things and i will try a campaign now

[4zumi]

Sure
Let me know how it plays out.

I made a short clickthrough campaign and mostly everyone was at war on turn 25 or so, with the reverted changes.

I think without the new campaign AI one should maybe take the "hard" difficulty setting. But I am no expert when it comes to AI.

[Cokjan]

Well well well 4zumi, that explains a lot. No wonder why my Turks game involves me getting ganked by many christian factions!
Very Hard difficulty didn't help either, it could make the enemy spam crazy amount of units (BYZANTINES WTF). And your reputation decreases very fast, I was untrustworthy even though I didn't do much and they most faction are only at war with rebels... (I was at turn 20+ or so though)

Will pick a N/VH difficulty next time, it's chillin time...

[gbfanjoe08]

thanks 4zumi, i'll try what you suggested

[DarkGreninja]

This mod is very good. THE AI though i think needs to be ummm a bit changed because sometimes they can be really overpowering

Overall i like the mod, i covered it on my YT channel which is Emperor Greninja

having to re-install because i'm a total idiot

[4zumi]

@cokjan

Yeah, playing as a muslim faction is always a thrill The catholics hate you, the orthodox hate you and sometimes you will get backstabbed by fellow muslim brothers...

@joe

Sure let me know if it "helps"

@dark

Thanks
I am not much of an AI changing type, as I have never really meddled with it. I leave that to better people...
You may look out for the small "no new campaign AI" submod I am preparing, this might help.

And it is really cool to see my mod covered in Youtube. Wish you good luck with that.

[Plaut]

You do understand Serbia was empire during medieval time frame with very big part of Balkan under it control threatening to overthrow Byzantine empire (only early death of emperor prevent him to actually take steps actively in that direction, plus Turkish invasion which he had to face put actions against ERE in second plan). There is no real reason not adding it except pure hate from you! I can go across Creative assembly political decision to not put Serbia in original game (hell there were others factions they surpass also, for example Bulgaria, Aragon, Castile) as we are "terrorists" of the Europe but this act of your as independent moder is just outright stupidity. Before, if you answer anything i wright this not because i am somewhat to much hurt with your decision, i dont really give a damn thing either about your answer, i know it will not be fair at all or with much sense so yeah just to point it out.
ps. Learn history before you start making something about it!

[Delta35]

Yes, I've always looked for mods like this that protect the vanilla feel. Great job!
I have one question though, I think gunpowder units having half the unit size is a very big nerf.
What is your thought on this?

[4zumi]

@plaut

Make me one thing very clear: You, or every other person are not entitled to demand anything from me regarding this mod (but, as I always say, I am open to suggestions, albeit the mod is finished, so there will most likely no changes anymore).
And I do not hate Serbia or Serbs especially, I hate everybody equally.

Calling me stupid for not including your nation feels a little bit odd. You say that you do not give a damn about my mod not including Serbia, or my answer, but on the same note you have taken time to write in this thread stating your dissatisfaction with my decisions.

And on your note, that I should learn some history, I have to shamefully admit, that I am no history buff that has read a thousand books about specific timeframes in this era so I could tell apart coat of arms at first glance or name the seven grandmothers of the Petty Knight Balduin of Katzenelnbogen in the winter of 1204. I read up what I need to know, and I read more if it interests me, so call me a mere enthusiast, that may be not worthy of making an "historic" mod. And this reading up is finally what caused some nations not to be included, or simply the fact that there is a faction limit in place, which I can not circumvent.

I think what got you so worked up, are my FAQs, where I mentioned that "Serbia is not going to happen". I will not remove it and I will not apologize for it, as it is not meant as hate but merely the fact that most of the suggestions included "Please make a Serbian faction", so I humoured this a bit.

To come to a conclusion of my "unfair" answer, that took me far too long to write, assuming that everybody sees the Serbs as "Terrorists" and therefore shunning them all the time, not giving them their "rightful" place could be a tad to overblown. I don't know if I can change your mind, and I don't know if I want to, but maybe you can think about why my mod hurt your pride.

PS. @all
And don't you Bavarians even think about nagging why I have not included your blue white Weißwurstschädel...

[4zumi]

@delta
Thank you, much appreciated.

The half unit size is not intended as a nerf, it is more of a buff. But let me explain.

The gunpowder units before were very clunky and a nightmare to maneuver. By cutting them in half I avoided this problem.
They also do not shuffle around after each volley like they did before. They fire by rank.
Then, if you look at the stats, they have now 2 hitpoints, which means they can withstand trading volleys better.
And finally, they are really, really deadly, because I upped the damage their bullets do a lot.

I have tested them quiet a bit to make sure they are on paar with the "full" unit size and perform decent.

Oh, and lastly. Their fewer numbers make them more useful in the city defences.

I hope I could answer your question. If you have any more, feel free to ask.

[Delta35]

Thank you for your answer.
Now that you explain it I think you are right. Good thinking.

[Delta35]

Playing as France in 1108, enjoying the mod so far.
I noticed this merchant and want to ask something.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

As you can see this Scottish Merchant is earning a fortune from the wine resource in my land but when I want to send my 2 skill Merchant to trade the same wine it tells me that it is worth 40 florins. The same 2 skill Merchant earns around 40 florins when trading wine from other land too. I wonder if that's because the skill difference or something more complex?

[4zumi]

@delta
it is something more complex. but to keep it short and as far as i know it is something as follows:

-the worth of a resource is not set in stone. there is a base value, but depending on distance to your capital, merchant skill, and i think if you possess the lands with this resource you get various results.
-to maximise your profits you will have to seek out resources you do not own and are far away from your capital and are worth a ton.
-scotland does not have wine and it is a bit away from their capital, so they get much more from it than you.
-i upped every base value of resources, so trading can be very, very lucrative.

[4zumi]

@all
I just made a small submod that removes the Skynet CAI. I tested it in a france campaign and I think it comes out quiet satisfactory.

all you have to do is download this mod here
http://www.mediafire.com/file/puu250...egone.zip/file

unpack it and put it into the totalvanillab folder.

make a backup of the three altered files if you want to revert back sometime later if you like the skynet cai more.

I think you have to start a new campaign to let it take effect.

Have fun, tell me if something breaks (but it should not)

[Virian]

Hey, I just found this and I was wondering if you'll add more orthodox factions like the Romanian Principates of Vallahia or Moldova in future versions. Also perhaps instead of removing Skynet CAI you could modify it a bit. Just give some factions some triggers that compel them to go to war? Like attack or destroy faction x and factions z,j,y attack you, conquer city XXXX and other factions attack you. Ann example would be if a non Christan faction conquers Constantinople or Jerusalem then all Christiian factions declare war to that faction.

[4zumi]

Hello and welcome Virian to zumis little wonderland

You will most likely not see any changes by me to this mod, as I have finished everything I wanted to do. And more factions are sadly not possible with the engine limitations.
And for the Skynet AI, yes I could do that if I had a grasp on how AI works in this game. But I am not willing to put any time in this right now, as it will most likely take a lot of it and I am a little burned out from 2,5 years Total Vanilla.
Such triggers you described would be possible, but I have my doubts on the effectiveness and would be very complicated in the end, achieving very little and bloat the script.

So, I am sorry for all the negative news I brought, but it is how it is.
Have fun on your campaigns

[Virian]

Hello and welcome Virian to zumis little wonderland

You will most likely not see any changes by me to this mod, as I have finished everything I wanted to do. And more factions are sadly not possible with the engine limitations.
And for the Skynet AI, yes I could do that if I had a grasp on how AI works in this game. But I am not willing to put any time in this right now, as it will most likely take a lot of it and I am a little burned out from 2,5 years Total Vanilla.
Such triggers you described would be possible, but I have my doubts on the effectiveness and would be very complicated in the end, achieving very little and bloat the script.

So, I am sorry for all the negative news I brought, but it is how it is.
Have fun on your campaigns

Thanks, and it's a shame honestly, oh well the mod is still very funny regardless.