Making Rebel Settlements Stronger and More

[Gallantide]

1. How would I go about making rebel settlements harder for the player/AI to take? I've tried giving them more money in the script but they don't seem to spend it on buildings and troops like the factions do. Basically, I want independent cities to last longer into the campaign, which would undermine quick AI expansion as well as compelling them to war with one another.
I already like how most rebel generals have high command stars to keep the AI at bay, but when the generals die it makes them ripe pickings for the player and AI alike.
Don't get me wrong, I love the mod to death, it's just that I get discouraged l when I see Epirus attacking the Sweboz by 220, while they leave Greece untouched. Could this be because moving up Balkans is part of their victory conditions

2. Futhermore, would it be possible to increase the probability of one's non-homeland provinces rebelling? I always welcome the challenge of fighting some huge war and having my less-loyal settlements taking advantage of the opportunity to kick out my tyrant.

3. Lastly, how do schools work? I know they boost the managing abilities of your youth, but do they also give advantages to older family members?

Thanks again EB team and for another great release, and thank you to the fans who will (hopefully) take the time to respond to my questions.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

There was some complex scripting added to make central asia much stronger, but since the scripting was complex (and all scripting slows down gameplay) the strengthening of the rebels was limited to that area. You could always add more starting armies to rebel towns or increase their income, but that is only a slight delay. Part of the problem is that around 230BC, the governors of unconquered rebel towns start dying and their armies become mobile, resulting in some abandoning their city and wandering away. Also, the fact that the AI is hardcoded to go after the rebel settlements before faction held settlements makes the whole situation difficult to manage.

In Total War games it is quite easy to subjugate foreign areas. It would be very difficult to make it difficult without complex scripting/traiting or the use of complex building bonuses and hidden resources.

Schools increase the chances of getting good traits and ancillaries (though some trait can be considered bad if the character is a fighter). I believe it will effect older characters as well as the young, to some extent.

[Leão magno]

Believe it is well designed in Panonia and north from Italy, I would like to see the same script in Sracuse, north Africa...

[Gallantide]

Thank you MarcusAureliusAntoninusfor your quick and thorough response.
I'll add some more units to the larger rebel settlements. But where is the script file, and what are the best defense units to give?

Thanks again.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Script:
.../Rome - Total War/EB/Data/scripts/show_me/EBBS_script.txt

If you want to add more starting units in some places that would be in the:
.../Rome - Total War/EB/Data/world/map/campaign/imperial_campaign/descr_strat.txt

[Gallantide]

Update: I modified the unit of each rebel province, replacing all armour 0 weapon 0 to gold status (3). I've noticed much slower AI expansion. And it makes me think twice before attacking a rebel settlement. Im playing as AS with BI and have noticed that factions like Getai and Epirus have expanded minimally by 214 BC which is what I hoped for. Although Rome has just conquered the peninsula and is now landing troops in Africa against Carthage, it is clear this is having a more balancing effect. I'll try lowering the armour of Italian cities to see if Rome expands a little faster.

[invictus]

Wouldnt that however make it so that Rome becomes a super power? Makes it seem like you want Rome specifically to be the best. Perhaps it should be Carthage invading italy. -Leon

[Gallantide]

I'm just looking to make AI factions expand more historically (slower) by compelling them to attack other factions before focusing on rebels. With the changes I made Rome was expanding too slowly, so I'm tinkering with the script to make southern Italian cities slightly weaker than the northern ones, which I hope would force Rome to move southwards and eventually come head to head with Carthage. Basically, I want the northern barbarians harder to conquer for the first 400 turns. This, I hope, would lead the mediterranian factions to fight amongst themselves to give time for the barbarians to build power.
In further efforts to curb instant AI superpowers, I wanted to tinker with the building costs and construction times to make the game slower, as well as making me contemplate what is worth investing in. Where can I find the file to edit building time/costs??
In my current game as AS I've found that buildings are so cheap and quick to build that my cities grow at insane speeds, and I have gotten to the point where I can set all my settlements on automatic construction without worrying about funds. I think the Great School of Learning(?) should cost much more and take more than 3-4 years to build, after all, it was the ancient world, and constructing such a huge complex (judging by its picture) would take at least twice that amount of time to build. Likewise, it seems odd that I'm given the choice between spending 1200 (and a few turns) on a dirt road or two decent units. In my opinion, I think it would be longer and more costly (labour, materials) to build a road (which has permanent benefits considering it can't be destroyed) than to raise two phalangite units.
But hey, I'm no expert.
Where can I find this file to edit buildings?

Thanks again.