Fixing issues with Gallic Cav, Getae Axemen, and Tarabostae
Hello. After many years modding RTW by myself and wasting more hours than I care to remember, I thought I'd put aside the modding and enjoy the fruits of someone else's labour for a change. As RS does pretty much what my own mod attempted to do - albeit on a much grander and professional scale, I decided reinstall RTW&BI afresh and play that. Hurrah etc!
Unfortunately during my very first custom battle featuring my chums the Getae, I noticed numerous issues with their units. Namely: light cavalry have shield issues; axemen have ruddy great holes in their heads; and Tarabostes have a strange 'javelin looks like a spear at more than 5 yards' issue. After painstakingly going through the forums here looking for people with the same issues and finding no solutions, I re-downloaded the latest version of the mod and installed it again just in case the download was corrupt. Unsurprisingly the issues remained. Anyway, after a couple of hours fiddling around, here are some solutions I've come up with. I apologise if these issues have been fixed before because I can't find those fixes!
Gallic Cavalry ---- Butterfly shield pattern:
I've seen others have this problem but many people don't. It isn't caused by a faulty install, it's caused by leftover files from the original RTW install. The barbarian cavalry model has been changed so the shield pattern isn't mirrored. However, the new models are given the same name as the old CA models. Where the problem lies is the old CA models also have .RUM files with the same name. These files override the .CAS files that the new model uses, effectively meaning although the unit has a new model, the old model is still used thanks to those mysterious .RUM files. The solution is thus:
Go to your data\models_unit folder and find where it says unit_barb_warband_cavalry_high.CAS . There will also be a unit_barb_warband_cavalry_high.RUM file. Either rename that file to something else or delete it. Do the same for the other unit_barb_warband_cavalry_ .RUM files.
Now the shields will display correctly. I have no idea why some people are affected by this, and others not.
Getae Tarabostae - Spear/Javelin Issue
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I only found one post about this issue leading me to think it's either been overlooked or is a freak occurrence. The unit's javelins turn into spears when viewed at a range of more than 5 yards. I couldn't see what the problem was in 3DMax, but I have very limited experience with the software anyway. I think the unit's mapping is a little messed up but it's beyond me. A short-term minor solution is to edit the export_descr_unit.txt file (back it up first) and find the entry: type dacian elite sword warrior
and change the line that says: stat_pri_attr thrown ap
to: stat_pri_attr prec,thrown ap
This doesn't solve the issue, but makes it so the unit has it's sword drawn first, so at least when the unit is idle it looks proper.
Axemen with holes in their head
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There are 3 basic 1-handed barbarian axemen models in the game - one German with a tuft of hair sticking to the side; a Scythian one with helmet and chainmail; and a girly pigtail one that the German Night Raider uses.
For RS, they've made the German, Scythian/Sarmatian and Getae axemen all use the same German model to presumably save space for adding more model types. This means the poor Getae and Sarmatian axemen have to go around fighting with a ruddy great hole in their head.
The solution is fairly simple, but requires editing 3 files. Making changes to any of these files means you won't be able to play online against others so backup the original files, these are: export_descr_unit.txt, descr_model_battle.txt, and export_descr_buildings.txt. There is a possibly of affecting your existing campaigns too.
Solution - Creating a new Axemen entry that has a different model to the German one, meaning each axemen has a model that works for his texture.
Part 1 - open the data\export_descr_unit.txt file. Find the entry:
Change the ownership line to just germans -- eg:ownership germansCode:type warband axe german dictionary warband_axe_german ; Axemen category infantry class heavy voice_type Light_1 soldier warband_axe, 60, 0, 2 officer barb_standard attributes sea_faring, hide_improved_forest, warcry, hardy, power_charge formation 1, 1, 2.4, 2.4, 6, horde, square stat_health 1, 0 stat_pri 40, 15, no, 0, 0, melee, blade, piercing, axe, 0 ,0.5 stat_pri_attr no stat_sec 0, 0, no, 0, 0, no, no, no, none, 25 ,1 stat_sec_attr no stat_pri_armour 1, 43, 4, flesh stat_sec_armour 0, 1, flesh stat_heat 2 stat_ground 3,-2,4,2 stat_mental 27, impetuous, trained stat_charge_dist 40 stat_fire_delay 0 stat_food 60, 300 stat_cost 0, 550, 195, 50, 70, 250 ownership germans, dacia
Now copy the entire entry and paste it at the bottom of the text file (if you paste it after the existing entry, it will mess up the mercenary recruitment of any existing campaigns).
Edit the copied entry and change it to this:
The lines in bold are the parts that need changing. You've now got a new soldier that is identical to the original, however, it uses a new soldier entry in the descr_model_battle.txt file and is only recruitable for Dacia/Getae.Code:type warband axe dacia dictionary warband_axe_german ; Axemen category infantry class heavy voice_type Light_1 soldier warband_axe2, 60, 0, 2 officer barb_standard attributes sea_faring, hide_improved_forest, warcry, hardy, power_charge formation 1, 1, 2.4, 2.4, 6, horde, square stat_health 1, 0 stat_pri 40, 15, no, 0, 0, melee, blade, piercing, axe, 0 ,0.5 stat_pri_attr no stat_sec 0, 0, no, 0, 0, no, no, no, none, 25 ,1 stat_sec_attr no stat_pri_armour 1, 43, 4, flesh stat_sec_armour 0, 1, flesh stat_heat 2 stat_ground 3,-2,4,2 stat_mental 27, impetuous, trained stat_charge_dist 40 stat_fire_delay 0 stat_food 60, 300 stat_cost 0, 550, 195, 50, 70, 250 ownership dacia
One final change for this file, find the type warband axe scythian entry, and where it says soldier warband_axe, 60, 0, 2
Change it to: soldier warband_axe2, 60, 0, 2
Save the file.
Part 2: Open data\descr_model_battle.txt
Copy the warband_axe entry...
Paste it underneath, then change it to this:Code:type warband_axe skeleton fs_s1_barbswordsman ; axe has same anims as club, and shares some with sword indiv_range 40 texture germans, data/models_unit/textures/wbb/unit_barb_warband_geaxe_.tga texture dacia, data/models_unit/textures/tone/dacia/unit_barb_warband_dacia_.tga texture scythia, data/models_unit/textures/unit_barb_warband_scythia_.tga model_flexi_m data/models_unit/unit_barb_warband_german_axe_high.cas, 8 model_flexi_m data/models_unit/unit_barb_warband_german_axe_med.cas, 15 model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_barb_warband_german_axe_low.cas, 30 model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_barb_warband_german_axe_lowest.cas, max model_sprite germans, 60.0, data/sprites/rs/germans_warband_axe_sprite.spr model_sprite dacia , 60.0, data/sprites/rs/dacia_warband_axe_sprite.spr model_sprite scythia, 60.0, data/sprites/rs/scythia_warband_axe_sprite.spr model_tri 400, 0.5f, 0.5f, 0.5f
You've created the new warband_axe2 entry and changed the model to use the Scythian Axe model. This means the axeman no longer has a ridiculous hole in his head.Code:type warband_axe2 skeleton fs_s1_barbswordsman ; axe has same anims as club, and shares some with sword indiv_range 40 texture germans, data/models_unit/textures/wbb/unit_barb_warband_geaxe_.tga texture dacia, data/models_unit/textures/tone/dacia/unit_barb_warband_dacia_.tga texture scythia, data/models_unit/textures/unit_barb_warband_scythia_.tga model_flexi_m data/models_unit/unit_barb_warband_scythia_axe_high.cas, 8 model_flexi_m data/models_unit/unit_barb_warband_scythia_axe_med.cas, 15 model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_barb_warband_scythia_axe_low.cas, 30 model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_barb_warband_scythia_axe_lowest.cas, max model_sprite germans, 60.0, data/sprites/rs/germans_warband_axe_sprite.spr model_sprite dacia , 60.0, data/sprites/rs/dacia_warband_axe_sprite.spr model_sprite scythia, 60.0, data/sprites/rs/scythia_warband_axe_sprite.spr model_tri 400, 0.5f, 0.5f, 0.5f
If you're still with me chaps and non-chaps and not lost the will to live, save the file.
Part 3 - Christmas! I mean open and edit data\export_descr_buildings.txt
We're almost at the end and it's taken me twice as long to type all this as it took to make the changes, so I'll press on.
All you must do is open export_descr_buildings.txt in notepad and search for this: recruit "warband axe german" 0 requires factions { dacia, }
Change every line that starts like that to this: recruit "warband axe dacia" 0 requires factions { dacia, }
Right save the file, cross your fingers and the fix should be made.
Notes:
The German and Getae axemen are now two separate troop types, although their stats and descriptions and unit cards remain as before. You'll be unable to bribe each other's axemen to the other side now.
The new Dacian Axeman will no longer have sound files referenced to him. A very minor detail.
If you are continuing an old campaign, I'm guessing it will still run, but you'll be unable to retrain any old Getae axemen as the game now only lets you recruit the 'new' version. Additionally, mercenary recruitment will be messed up if you didn't add the new axeman entry to the end of the export_descr_unit.txt file. If you're just starting a new campaign and don't want to continue old ones, you can just add the entry under the existing axeman entry.
Changing the files mentioned will make you unable to play against others with the mod online, unless they too have the same changes.
Epilogue:
By Woden's itchy beard, that was a long post for a very trivial few fixes. If there are existing fixes or other solutions, pray let me know! Especially for that Getae swordsman as I want to play a Getae campaign but that missile issue bugs me somewhat!
Anyway I look forward to playing the mod finally! However, I almost jumped out of my seat when I noticed the Sarmatian light spearmen use one of my own skins!! Good grief, who would have thought something crappy I made would be included.
Cheerio.
PS: I hope this is a) useful, b) correct, and c) posted in the right forum. If not please let me escape through the side exit unharmed and we'll say no more about it...
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Originally Posted by SquidSK
