Page 3 of 35 FirstFirst 1234567891011121328 ... LastLast
Results 41 to 60 of 694

Thread: Medieval Total War - Redux (Beta)

  1. #41
    Axalon's Avatar She-Hulk wills it!
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Sverige
    Posts
    1,270

    Icon4 Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    SPANISH BUG FOUND!
    ------------------------
    Ok, it has come to my attention that by exploiting various flaws in the original game (MTW) it is possible to play reduxed Spain in a way that makes it unacceptably simple. By commencing a chain-reaction of silly retreats from the AI it has become possible to totally ruin the designs set up for Spain. I will have none of that and this is utterly unacceptable of course.

    Current released material has these weaknesses built in so the damage is already there (sadly enough). What remains now is to do some damage control and the first step on that direction is this release of this “rushed into service” experimental startpos for both versions of redux the “N1000/1” (versions for both V.1.1 and VI/2.01) and see if the problem have been successfully countered with that.

    Further down the road an official redux patch will be released and rest assured the Spanish bug will be completely killed to the best of my abilities with that. As for now, all you guys will be the testers of the N1000 “startpos” – so report your findings in this matter here! Also state what version your'e running your tests with N100x, is it V.1.1 or VI/V.2.01?


    Download experimental startpos Spanish fix “N1000” for MTW V.1.1:
    Removed

    Download experimental startpos Spanish fix “N1001” for MTW VI/2.01:
    Removed

    Cambovenzi and Obliqueattack have both already secured a credit for bringing this fact to my attention. I will also credit anybody else who reports in any other substantial information in this matter that are connected to the N100x-file. All credits will be included in the future formal redux-patch and the release of the 3rd edition of MTW-redux....


    -------------------------------------------------------
    MISSION BRIEFING: “N1000/N1001-testing” (Expert-level)
    -------------------------------------------------------
    Ok, this is for all you guys who wants try it out and want to help some at the same time! First of all place the file in the right place, probably something like that: X:\?\?\Redux - Total War\campmap\startpos. Place the N100x there, if everything is working you should see it when you try to start a new campaing. Now, your mission while testing the N1000/N1001 are divided into three parts:


    1. Play as Spain, Expert-level. Secure the entire Iberian Peninsula as fast as humanly possible; including Aragon, Navarre, Valencia, Castile, Leon, Portugal, Cordoba and Granada. How long does this take? How many turns? Find that out. If it takes you 40+ turns abort mission and report in the good news. Do it twice to be on the safe side....
    2. Play as Spain, Expert-level. How long does it take to annihilate the Moors completely out of the game? NOTE, in this mission it is not necessary to secure the Peninsula. If it takes you 40+ turns abort mission and report in the good news. Do it twice to be on the safe side....
    3. Play as as the Moors and check out that there is no freezes or any other problems with the current experimental configuration. Play 5 turns, do it at least twice. If there is no problems at all abort mission and report in the good news.

    Ok that’s all, get out there and do some fancy fighting then. I should be harder to "blitz-around" now. :hmmm:

    -------------------------------------------------------
    EDIT: All this stuff are dated now and the mission is aborted because the
    Spanish bug is already killed. I'll release a fix for all that soon...


    - Cheers
    Last edited by Axalon; November 24, 2008 at 07:32 AM. Reason: update

  2. #42
    PrivateJoh's Avatar Tiro
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Usually in front of my computer
    Posts
    236

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Hi Axalon,

    Thanks for your instructions. Of course, I did not follow them but they gave me inspiration to test some ideas and get the work done. Yes, I have finished the core troop for all factions, plus I have checked the regional troops recruitable for the factions depending on their religion. I am missing troops that only appear as rebel, but those are only 6 and I am not sure how/whether to do it.

    You could start off with a big sized reference/stat-map (at least 4x current size for a unit or something, its hard to be overly obvious here) were you actually write in exactly what everything stands for, as in “Attack” were that is and “Defence” were that is located on your matrix/grid. My suggestion is that you have this on “Page2”.
    You would probably be better off with a few initial definitions and explanations as well. Explain and define what you mean by “core units”. Explain what you mean with the asterisks. Again it is hard to be overly obvious here. Generally speaking do some definitions and explanations it wont hurt none. Explain the model of selection you have applied.
    First of all, I think Redux will most likely be played by experienced MTW player that have a very good prior knowledge about the game. In any case, there is actually some explanation at the end of the document, but as I was doing it on the fly, the explanation was not always updated when I changed the basic form. I still think that that should be at the end, but will probably try to build a table of contents or something like that so you know where to find it. As for explanations, I am a minimalistic person, so it suits my taste. I will think about it though.

    Perhaps some minor chart over stuff like “dicipline”, things that is fairly limited with in its variables (how about uppgrades in armor and weaponry or perhaps some stats on bows and crossbows?!?). Stuff like that and that is at the same time usefull or intresting to know about. How about such stuff all gathered in place, after all redux are very special when it comes to projectiles....
    Regarding missiles, I have stated their reach and whether they are armour piercing or not. I feel that adding to much detail will crowd the file … and I am a minimalistic. I can give you that accuracy could be interesting, but the final result depends more heavily on from where the projectile is shot, so I do not see it as a key element. Regarding the upgrades in armour and weaponry, my idea is that it “just” adds 1 extra point to deffence or attack but I am not sure myself.

    I found some “passive” crossbows in the italians page, maybe there are some more of that stuff around. Have another check on that perhaps?
    I am afraid I did not get that. I actually used Access to surf the file since I can use search tools or order it, which makes it much easier. Maybe there is something close to that entrance in the original file? I know about your “secret” units, Mr Star and Mr Warhammer. Is it related to that? On the topic, Novgorod units appear through the file, but it is not defined as a faction in the ReduxSPC-VI_Rebel.TXT file. What was the intention? It has some unique and reserved units as well, but I do not know what you intended.

    You simply got have some cool cover for it or something. I could upload it here for PR, PR, PR! Hell I could perhaps do some cool and sexy title text or something, but you must determine what it should say if you want any of that to happen.
    Ok, here is what I like. Background of your first last picture in this thread without the “VI-Upgrade1.0 ….”; Background of PIC1, specifically Redux Campaign; Background of PIC2 without “Reduxed strategical mode”; Background of PIC4 without “Redux troops & such”; And finally, your picture signature without “2nd edition …” or “Click here”.

    On another level, I have also messed a bit with the factions and made all of them playable (I am using VI). I have not really tested them, but why shouldn’t any of them be playable (apart from the Papacy of course)?

    That would be all for now.

    Joh

  3. #43

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Great stuff, Axalon! I didn't think anyone was still modding MTW. I'm definitely going to load up MTW again and check out your mod.

    Dominion of the Sword, a Medieval II: Total War Supermod
    Under the patronage of Archaon. Proud member of the House of Siblesz
    My friend died from chain letters. If you don't post this again 100 times, he will come and kill you in your sleep!

  4. #44
    Axalon's Avatar She-Hulk wills it!
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Sverige
    Posts
    1,270

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Hi Guys,

    Azim: by all means please do, I sure do hope that you’ll have loads of fun with it and that you stick around here. Once you get things up and running perhaps you could tell me what faction you play and maybe I could provide you with some pointers if you want to? At any rate, I think that you won’t be sorry for trying it out. Finally, thanks for the kind remark, those always are nice to have around. Hope to read you here more.

    Joh: don’t bother with the rebels in if you don’t want 'em. Personally however, I think that your guide would be more complete with them included.
    Here is a list of which units that are “strictly” rebel:

    • HeathenWarlords
    • RaiderInfantry
    • RaiderSpearmen
    • RaiderCavalry
    • RaiderWarlords (I think these are actually locked down)
    • RaiderHorseArchers
    • KhanateHorseArchers (hardly ever get used)

    Rebel naval-units:

    • PirateShip (Naval)
    • PirateGalley (Naval)

    All other units are to be considered either “secret” or locked down for various reasons.

    Some other notes for you here:“…a table of contents” and explanations are always good. It better to have too many instead of too few. That’s my view anyway. I also think that you should definitely have some specs on missiles. I would include accuracy with an asterisk with your comment on circumstantial dependence for that value. As for upgrades; swords provides +1-4 bonus to attack, shields provides +1-4 bonus to armor which is not, and does not work, the same as defense. Don’t bother with the “secret units” they are not supposed to be “official” anyhow. The Novgorod situation is entirely linked to structural stuff of the basic game program, and that’s my way to keep it silent and cooperative. Novgorod was/is never intended to be used in any official stuff. Regarding “passive” crossbows, what I meant was that you spelled Pavise crossbows wrong that’s all.

    Finally do have an ETA on the full package? As in a complete guide? If this is soon perhaps we could sync it with the patch. That way all minor changes would included in it. Just a thought, let me know what you think about that.


    “On another level, I have also messed a bit with the factions and made all of them playable (I am using VI). I have not really tested them, but why shouldn’t any of them be playable (apart from the Papacy of course)?”
    Have we not been here before? Have look at the known bug-section in “ReadMe 1.0b” and find out why, particularly PORTUGAL, NORSE and LITHUANIAN factions (all these are big no-no, because of structural issues and limitations with the original program. You simply cannot play them in an acceptable fashion, at least in my opinion). All the others should work ok in the VI/V2.01 version.

    First of all there are some design aspects to it; I use these factions to among other things balance stuff out for the default playable factions. Hence they were not supposed to be played (but it is very possible to play them of course). Also I did not bother to write some intros for ‘em (thus saved time and avoided additional work) and I was hesitant in regards to if they were any fun to play. So I cancelled them. Hungary is probably the hardest of them all (a fairly weak tactical profile by comparison with most other factions). At any rate, LOMBARDY, BURGUNDY, ARAGON and HUNGARY should all work just fine, regardless of what version of redux you use. If there ever going to be additional factions to play in redux “officially” it will be all or some of these four (I don’t think I’ll ever use the Swiss slot, if I do perhaps it will some future expansion or for some silly redux-mod. I just don’t know. Any of this will first be considered after redux is completed, fully operational and patched without any of the current flaws and weak areas). Novgorod will at any rate, never be included in any official stuff (my advice to you is to stay clear of Novgorod so the game-program won’t fuss with you).

    As for the requested pics, I sorted most of them out and included a few other things as well that might be useful for this project. I’ll pack ‘em all together in one resource-pack. I’ve sent you a PM with the link.


    - Cheers
    ---------
    BTW, Its probably better if you guys stay away from playing Spain until the matter have been properly solved and fixed. All the other default factions functions well so play any of those in the mean time.

  5. #45
    Edelward's Avatar Vicarius
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Foreign student of yoga in India
    Posts
    2,986

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Hey,Axalon !
    I tried to download ,but all files from
    Filefront kind of having prob to do that
    so I got this
    Download MTW-Redux 1.0b.zip-version:
    from atomic.
    P.S. I started campaign and it really rocks
    Last edited by Edelward; November 22, 2008 at 04:14 PM. Reason: Add info
    Fitz Salnarville, Duke William's favourite knyghte,
    To noble Edelwarde his life dyd yielde;
    Withe hys tylte launce hee stroke with thilk a myghte,
    The Norman's bowels steemde upon the feeld.
    Old Salnarville beheld hys son lie ded, 235
    Against Erie Edelward his bowe-strynge drewe;
    But Harold at one blowe made tweine his head;
    He dy'd before the poignant arrowe flew.
    So was the hope of all the issue gone,
    And in one battle fell the sire and son
    .

  6. #46
    Axalon's Avatar She-Hulk wills it!
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Sverige
    Posts
    1,270

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Hi there Edelward,

    Well…. There are three possible explanations for that:
    1. Your personal Internet settings.
    2. Foul ups over at Filefront (very possible reason). Due to aggressive advertising things might backfire now and then… He he! Serves them right. Oopps I didn’t say that!
    3. The Filefront server is on vacation (as in down).

    I have been over to my website there and there is no problems there now at least. But if I remember correctly there was some server snafu a few days ago (about the same time you did your post here).

    Anyway, I’m glad you like it and that you are having fun with redux. If there are anything “reduxy” you want ask about or get out of your system… Well, then you know where to post now, right?

    - Cheers
    Last edited by Axalon; November 25, 2008 at 02:39 PM.

  7. #47
    Axalon's Avatar She-Hulk wills it!
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Sverige
    Posts
    1,270

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b



    The Spanish Fix is now finally released! Thus the “Spanish problems” should be solved once and for all (and one should be able to play Spain on acceptable terms now). It has been a lot of demanding work involved with this and it is with a bit of relief I finally make it available to the public (thus I can finally focus on completely other things). This “superfix” will not only counter the many issues and hardcoded problems with the Spanish campaign but also make several changes and improvements for the entire game.


    Release Notes on the Spanish fix:

    Personally I would prefer to make things even harder for Spain but since the main problems here are hardcoded there is little more I could do now short of completely wreck the entire game balance in favour of the Moors. At any rate, the Spanish campaign (set on expert) is now harder than it has ever been before, all the hardcoded crap are harder to trigger which means that the Spaniards will now have to do some proper fighting – as supposed to – if they plan to advance anywhere. Portugal has ceased to be the “self-destructing” sitting duck it was before and the Portuguese will most likely put up a fight now! Aragon will probably not go down without out fight either. As for the Moors from a Spanish perspective, they have now become a more worthy foe as I intended them to be from day 1. Spain might be able to initially snatch a few provinces out of the Moorish empire, but I would be very surprised if they manage to do anything else beyond that (short of cheating of course). As for the march to Cairo, in theory it is still possible to do it, but again I would be fairly amazed if anyone manages to do that in less than 30 turns with the circumstances that follows with this fix – and survive as a kingdom in the process! But, it will probably take longer than that....

    Finally, I really do hope you guys enjoy this stuff so all the work with this will have been warranted somehow. As for additional info on the Spanish fix see the included “ReadMe”.


    Other notes on the Spanish Fix:

    Not only Spain has got a proper rummage with this fix but a lot of other things as well. The entirety mercenary system has been changed from essentially scratch. The old AI matrix has been thrown out and been completely replaced with the new “RX-1000® AI-System” (oh so serious! Anyway it is a farewell to the old CA AI-system) for it in order to better comply with my plans and designs. The rebel’s situation has been reworked (again) and they should now be a bit more active than before, hopefully at sea as well. A few alterations in the tactical matrix have been done as well. Here are some of the changes listed below.
    • Raider cavalry unit size changed to 60 men (default settings)
    • Light Militia unit size changed to 60 men (default settings)
    • Spanish Horsemen unit size changed to 60 men (default settings)
    • Camel raiders unit size changed to 60 men (default settings)
    • Peasants unit size changed to 80 men (default settings)
    • Desert Spearmen unit size changed to 60 men (default settings)
    • Pikemen few value-adjustments
    • Heavy Pikemen few value-adjustments
    • English Longbows finally comes at a decent price!
    • Italian Infantry finally comes at a decent price!
    • Various small adjustments here and there over the grid
    • Introducing a new unit, the Mercenary Eliteguard!


    The skirmisher weaknesses that plagued the some of the AI-armies before has been utterly destroyed and thus will not play any active part in redux anymore. The AI will not build peasant or skirmishers anymore. Thus armies will generally be stronger and properly balanced to do more serious battle. The archer situation of Byzantium seems to be hardcoded because the game conveniently ignores the standing instructions of the AI-matrix and keeps having a lot of archer formations no matter what the numbers says. It appears to be especially true for the VI-version.

    The Moors will now regularly train cavalry (and a few camel) formations in their armies and thus better correspond to the profile I assigned to them. The Saracens are still the mother of all camel-formations it seems, along with a continued strong presence of able infantry as well in their armies. The English have started being the naval power they are supposed to be and France has also been turned in to play a more active part at sea also. The HRE will now have some internal strength within the empire and will not collapse as easily it seems. Lithuania seems to finally have accepted its assigned role of being wild and aggressive. The Norse now do some serious ventures over sea and plays a more active part as a naval power – as supposed to! The Hungarian seems to have a way better survival rate with the Spanish fix, which of course is good as well. The Russian wave over Europe seems to be less frequent and the overall Russian power is contained better now. The Poles have still a very dark destiny awaiting them, but at least now they actually try to prepare themselves better for the great Armageddon of Poland. The Lombard’s and Italian league seems to finally “understand” that peaceful coexistence is at least an option from time to time....

    The Spanish fix also includes the little known “GreenTrees fix” for tactical mode. Some minor improvements in unit GFX and Normandy and Tunisia are as of now trading regions. Finally, the Spanish fix will only operate at full capacity on default unit size settings. The higher unit size settings you apply the more inefficient it will become. Ok that was the basics here; further details are to be found in the included “ReadMe”.





    Ok there are two versions of the Spanish fix released. This blue banner indicates that this is the regular version which is only compatible with MTW-Redux 1.0b (standard redux). When in download area look for this blue sign if it is MTW V.1.1 your’e are running at home. Then this is the Spanish Fix (A) you should download and use for your game.




    This grey banner indicates that this is the VI-version of the Spanish Fix (B) for redux. This means that it won’t work with anything else than a fully VI-upgraded game. When in download area look for this grey sign if it is MTW V.2.01 your’e are running at home. Then this is the Spanish Fix (B) you should download and use for your game.


    Ok, that’s it. Enjoy!
    Last edited by Axalon; March 30, 2009 at 05:02 PM. Reason: cleaning....

  8. #48

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    William the Silent:If I ever get Photoshop maybe. I actually like the way Paint works. It just doesn't have the layer option to move pieces of a picture (and no tga).
    William, you might check GIMP, it has layers and as much functions/features like photoshop, plus it's free and open-source (tutorials for it you might find on youtube.com):
    http://www.gimp.org/


  9. #49
    Axalon's Avatar She-Hulk wills it!
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Sverige
    Posts
    1,270

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Hi again people and thanks for the tip Max_minimod, I’ll pass it along it to William if I stumble across him before he reads it here.

    Ok, this time I will post a “little” something I wrote at different places over at the Org a while ago. I think its interesting stuff so I have compiled it to one single big “article” here for the TWC redux-thread. The subject of this article are the impact of unit size settings in MTW and in redux in particular. Here goes....



    The impact of unit size settings in MTW and redux
    ----------------------------------------------------

    Foreword:

    If “you” like certain unit size settings and the cosmetical effects that follows, excellent, fine and ok by me. No problem! But if we disregard personal preference and cosmetics for the moment and simply tries to determine the actual impacts of unit size settings has on the game what effects do we get?

    At any rate, this is stuff that probably are relevant to any version of MTW but since redux have special characteristics compared with the original and essentially all other versions in different regards I think it is very possible that what ever impacts there are, the effects might be more drastic in redux than the original game for instance. I’m well aware that there are people out there that have different and actually opposite views on this and possibly want to question these conclusions as well. By all means feel free to try if you think that you can present any solid arguments that might set things in a new light. That is the condition I set here for any potential debates.


    Introduction:

    Some of you might think that unit size settings have little importance and impact on your game. I firmly believe the opposite to be true and I will explain in detail why I think so. However, before I do that, let us determine in what specific areas potential impacts of unit size settings might be. There is little doubt that there will be some effects on a economical level, hence a “strategic level” in a broader sense of the game; increased troops costs and support expenses obviously are a direct effect of altered unit size settings (if you don’t play on small settings of course). So, there are no doubts as for the question if there are any potential effects on a strictly strategic level of the game (the stratmap-mode essentially). Are there other areas where the effects can traced as well? Well the game MTW only have one other mode and that is of course the tactical mode (the battles essentially). Do unit size settings have any impacts there? Well, I believe so and I will explain in detail as for why I think that is the case here as well. But let us start with examining some aspects on the strictly strategical level first. More in spoiler...

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    Part. 1 The strategical impact: cost

    Now on a strictly strategical level the higher size setting you use, the higher costs of troops you’ll get and that fact will of course make an impact on the game. Greater numbers of men means higher costs of training all scalable formations (and it will of course mean higher support costs as well). Since redux economics are pretty harsh (particularly in the VI-version), that will obviously make things harder in a general sense for you as the player. For each new unit you commission the troop better be worth it because of the hefty cost that comes along with it. And, it is very unlikely that you can commission as many units as you like. This is especially true in the beginning of the campaign since your economy is not strong enough to enable you to do such things, especially at higher difficulties. So, that aspect does make an impact on the game and it could be regarded as making things harder for you.


    Part. 2 The strategical impact: armies

    Higher unit size settings will probably also result in a slightly lower overall quality in the various armies during that game because it is too expensive to commission the really pricey “high end” units at all times (especially in the beginning). My guess is that there will be more cheap units around instead because of that fact, and all this in spite of the new RX-AI introduced with the Spanish fix. Even if the new AI is very likely to handle such circumstances far better than the old AI (the CA AI) it will probably be forced to rely on inferior troops more often because of the higher costs.

    This is especially true for factions that usually don’t have strong economies going such as Hungary, Burgundy, Aragon, Portugal and Poland for instance. It might also make an impact on Byzantium (and possibly Russia as well). And all this will probably show more in the VI-version because it has a tendency to more often ignore the AI settings in a way that the regular version don’t do, so there are differences between the two versions of redux and its not always in favor of VI. At any rate, all this will probably have the end result that the game will be slightly easier because the opposition won’t be quite as good as it would be with default unit size settings (after all, the redux economy is designed for that and it can handle that better since the costs involved there are lower). That fact will of course make an impact on the game, if not a critical, but it will probably make things a bit easier. So, we probably have somewhat conflicting results here this far.


    Part. 3 The strategical impact: the stratmap

    Another and perhaps the most decisive strategical impact of unit size settings on the game are the impact on the existing balance set up in the stratmap when the game starts. The already deployed and available units all over the stratmap are adjusted to default settings (and they will not scale accordingly to any other potential settings. It’s the same story in the original game). This will undoubtedly disrupt that balance to various degrees, and that at an increasing level the more you deviate from the default settings. The higher settings you use in the unit size settings, the easier it will be to crush or scare off those enemy units already deployed on the stratmap.

    Essentially it will create circumstances that forced me to do the Spanish fix in the first place. Playing as Spain for instance on higher settings will most likely be easier since such settings are more likely to trigger the hardcoded flaws concerning Portugal or Aragon for instance. Thus you can still destroy Portugal in the same old way as before because of such higher size settings, since these will undoubtedly more easily trigger that notorious self-destruct behavior in Portugal because the existing garrison is not scaled or adaptive to higher settings than default. That goes for the opposition found on the British Isles as well and basically all over the game.

    So in that sense there is a very real and noticeable strategic impact on the game that is directly connected to the unit size settings. That circumstance will be especially true in the beginning of the game and for the rebels in particular. However, these effects will also linger on in all factions that don’t have impressive economies to boost up their armies fast enough. I think that we all can agree upon the fact that high costs and poor economies usually don’t function that well together. In other words, in this sense the higher unit size settings you have the easier game you get (for reasons stated above).


    Part. 4 The strategical impact: conclusions

    In a general sense I have here pointed out three areas that unit size settings do make an impact on the game and out of those three, at least I consider, the last one to make the most serious impact on the game. The start of a game is usually one of the most vital phases of a game and redux is no exception in that sense. The fact that the already deployed units in redux (or in the original) won’t adapt to various size settings undoubtedly disrupts the set balance for the game. And that fact increases consequently the higher settings you might use. It’s easy to exploit and abuse such circumstances by lets say, triggering the hardcoded retreat behaviors of the AI. The greater unit size you set, the more easily you can trigger such behavior in the AI managing the already existing armies on the stratmap, even if it is unintentionally.

    In other words your chances of simply “scaring” the enemy to retreat to death by weight of numbers regardless whatever troops it might be increases with higher settings. Thus we can for instance very well produce the infamous “Portuguese self-destruct retreat” all over again, in spite of having the Spanish fix installed (which is only designed for default settings). I think that it serves very well as an example of what kind of impact we are talking about here, drastic!

    Now you guys may play on whatever settings you like but bare in mind that the game/redux is actually designed for default settings, thus anything above that will undoubtedly make things easier for you on a strategical level, and it gets easier for each higher setting. Do not forget that fact when you alter unit size settings next time. So much for the impacts on the strategic level, lets us have a look at what happens in a strictly tactical sense then?


    Part 5. The tactical impact: time

    The whole thing is pretty easy really, the more troops we have in one single unit the greater margins we get for errors. A unit that holds more men can simply survive longer, just because of that fact; it holds more men. Now, if a unit survives longer, even if we deployed it or used it wrongly or at least less efficiently. It also means that we have longer time to remedy a bad situation, thus the circumstances of battle becomes more forgiving to us. Thus we can conclude that battles will get slightly but increasingly easier with higher size settings.


    Part 6. The tactical impact: command

    Now, if things take longer to happen it also allows us more time to react and correct various faulty or less advantageous orders that we might give during battle. If that is the case then things will undoubtedly get easier to handle because we have greater chances of being more aware of what is actually happening and can thus deliver more proper orders accordingly. After all, the more time we have at our disposal in battle the better overview we get over that battle. The better overview we have, the likelihood of us giving better orders increases, simply because they are presumably based on more accurate assessments of the current and ruling circumstances of that particular battle. Thus we will probably give better orders to our troops. Thus things will get increasingly easier the higher settings we use since we get extra time to asses our situation and thus we are more likely to successfully command our forces.


    Part 7. The tactical impact: efficiency

    If we also consider the various aspects of the various values/stats that troops got in redux it is fairly obvious that they are pretty extreme by comparison with original MTW. Reduxed troops simply in a general sense far more efficient at what they do. Because of that that fact, the effect of various strengths and weaknesses in different troops will show much faster in a reduxed battle. If we increase the men in all units we also to a various degree “slow down” that circumstance because yet again there are more men that have to die before we get a noticeable effect of that and the various following consequences will thus kick in later (as in rout or total unit elimination for instance).

    However, if we got smaller numbers of men, our margins to get away with flawed orders decreases. In redux is much about (but not completely) to accurately deploy and use the correct troops to meet the “correct” foe. As in maximize our own bonuses against the foes weaknesses, as in pikemen vs. cavalry for instance or infantry/archers vs. pikemen and so on. Pikemen might be excellent against cavalry due to powerful bonuses in such circumstances, but against sword-infantry they don’t have these bonuses and thus get considerably weaker and are therefore more likely to get slaughtered in the process. And in case of facing archers there is little doubt that they are vulnerable to enemy fire since they got no shields to protect themselves.

    Now this might be valid elsewhere as well to some degree, but due to the more explicit values/stats that reduxed battle got, the effects of all this will kick in a lot faster. All this resulting in the fact that we actually got less time to react and remedy a situation if it gone bad. Increased numbers of men will undoubtedly to a degree have the very opposite effect or at least slow down that process. Thus the traits of various troops become less important with higher size settings to a variable degree since our time to correct various errors increases at an corresponding rate the higher settings we use.

    This creates the effect that we can handle the battle more easily and need not in focus on the traits and strengths of the troops as much, simply because we don’t have to. It gives us the luxury to more easily get away with flawed orders, in other words it is more forgiving to us players. As a result of all that we can safely assume that higher settings create circumstances that make the game easier for us to handle.


    Part 8. The tactical impact: diversity

    When our margin becomes smaller our dependency on flexible and accurate usage of various strengths and bonuses becomes more and more critical. We simply can not afford to foul up because the unit will so fast get into a rout or be utterly destroyed before we might have time to save it. Thus we must depend on optimal strengths and bonuses whenever possible in order to survive and at the same time get the advantage over the enemy, and this is especially true when facing a numerically greater enemy. But the general principle here is to take out or break enemy formations faster than the enemy can do ours. The more men we got, the less dependent we become to use these men in an optimal tactical level since their sheer numbers allows us to save/reinforce/relieve them later with other units. Thus the dependency on diversity to counter various foes in battle becomes less critical, because we have with size; the luxury of time and expendable manpower. Thus we can clearly draw the conclusion that higher size settings makes diversity less and less important. With a reduced amount of aspects, such as tactical diversity, that actually demands our attention - things will undoubtedly become easier to handle.


    Part 9. The tactical impact: balance

    The impact on the overall tactical balance between various units is also a factor that comes into play with unit size settings. With the small unit size settings, the none-scaleable smaller or mini units like royal knights, feudal champions or Norse scouts becomes overpowered in comparison to other scalable units in the game. And its easy to mass-produce Royal Knights for instance to crush all opposition by brute force. They are designed to function with default settings and are balanced accordingly. So, even if we apply the small unit size settings that balance will certainly be disrupted to a degree.

    However it is far more likely that the settings will be adjusted above the default settings and with that we get other problems that still create the same effects, as in the balance will be upset. Now, if we apply higher settings the non-scaleable units will be increasingly underpowered and thus the balance will also be upset to various degrees. Since units like Royal Knight or Byzantine Cataphracts for instance are among others important parts of the entire unit grid the system of units will become increasingly distorted because all those non-scaleable units in the game become more and more dysfunctional in regards to the other scaleable units. If that in it self makes the game harder or easier is possibly open for debate, but there is little doubt that need for using units like that becomes less and less important the higher settings you apply. If nothing else, they will eventually become so underpowered that it is questionable if they will contribute in any meaningful way in battle. Essentially we then get problems that seem to be very similar to those discussed under the diversity section (see part 8).

    Another aspect of balance as well is the assigned tactical profile of a faction. The Moors and Saracens for instance are to a degree dependent on numbers and it is a part of their tactical profile. If you remove or weaken such traits by using small unit size settings that profile will to a degree be damaged and handicapped in some cases. On the other end of the spectra we have for instance the Norse and many Catholic factions that possibly will become stronger by such a move, because the many high quality units that are available to them and that fact will most likely become more noticeable as well.

    The battles system is after all designed with the default unit settings in mind and it is balanced accordingly. What ever other unit size settings there are, will undoubtedly make an impact on a tactical level and that impact will become greater the more we deviate from the default settings, the more the balance is upset. Thus default settings are very likely to provide the optimal tactical experience of reduxed battle and probably the game as a whole (since battles, and the effects of battles are a major and vital cornerstone of the game). If the balance becomes distorted the risks of possible exploits will probably increase and that usually make a game easier if we decide to utilize such exploits.


    Part 10. The tactical impact: conclusion

    With the 5 presented aspects of time, command, efficiency, diversity and balance I think that we can safely assume that size settings does have an impact on redux on a strictly tactical level in battle. There is little doubt in my mind at least, that increased size settings makes the game easier (for reasons stated above) and it is thus another possible parameter/option of tailoring the game difficulty apart from the rather crude settings of Easy/Normal/Hard/Expert settings.

    Anyhow, because size does make an impact on how hard a battles gets it also will in the long run influence the entire game experience, because if the battles are harder the risks of you loosing them becomes higher. If you loose battles it will undoubtedly make an impact on how you fare in the overall campaign eventually. There are critical battles and there are less critical battles, we can all agree upon that. But, the tactical effects of size remains regardless if it is a critical battle or not without any exceptions. Thus it does make an impact on the difficulty of entire game in the long run (assuming that you command your battles personally).

    In order to minimize the tactical effects or distortions of unit size settings there actually is only one viable alternative left and that is the default settings. The very level that redux and its unique battle-system were designed for.


    Part 11. The impact of unit size settings: closing remarks

    What I have tried to determine here are the effects of unit size settings and the consequences that follows with that, nothing else. You guys can play at whatever size settings you like but if you decide to alter the unit size settings you should also be aware of the effects of that choice. A game with, lets say, maximum unit size settings will never provide the same tactical experience as default settings will for instance. The reasons for that are what has been discussed here and not whether a certain preference should be regarded as better than any other.

    It seems that we can use the unit size setting parameter to “fine-tune” the difficulty of the game at least in a tactical sense, and that is valuable information as well. In a strictly strategic sense a campaign set on max will never provide the same challenge as default settings will, because of the unscalability of already deployed units over the stratmap when game starts, either in redux or the original MTW (it is hardcoded). It is easy to just commission a few new upscaled units and then the starting balance are essentially lost and will continue to be so until all such units are eliminated from the game. Thus we have a widespread and multiple impacts that eventually can possibly make difference for the entire campaign….

    - Cheers
    Last edited by Axalon; December 19, 2008 at 05:04 AM.

  10. #50
    Axalon's Avatar She-Hulk wills it!
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Sverige
    Posts
    1,270

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Hi all,

    It appears that Filefront management have in their infinite wisdom ”lost” the MTW-redux 1.0b.rar upload. Thus that link is down. I will upload it again shortly (sigh). Until that is done, only the Atomicgamer upload is functional for the moment (zip-version). Don’t ask me why….


    EDIT: Ok, I have fixed it, another copy is uploaded and the new MTW-redux 1.0b.rar link is in place.

    - Cheers
    Last edited by Axalon; December 19, 2008 at 04:14 PM. Reason: update

  11. #51

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Quote Originally Posted by max_minimod View Post
    William, you might check GIMP, it has layers and as much functions/features like photoshop, plus it's free and open-source (tutorials for it you might find on youtube.com):
    http://www.gimp.org/

    Thanks for that tip Max-minimod. I will look into that. Maybe that one will not be so "user unfriendly" as Paint Shop Pro .
    Thanks Ax, for the tip about the tip.

  12. #52
    Axalon's Avatar She-Hulk wills it!
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Sverige
    Posts
    1,270

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Hi all,

    I have taken some screens on MTW-redux 3rd edition (from tactical mode) that is under development and not yet released.
    I have posted these three six screens to give you people a peek on the future of redux. I’ll post some other screens later (I
    have edited in some more
    ). Hope you guys like ‘em.





    The English and Lithuanians in a good charge...




    A bit closer on the action here...




    Lombards firering crossbows... Those new crossbow-calibrations really made my head spin.




    Lombards on the march. Now spears and pikes looks like it - and its about time they did! He he! Well I am happy
    about that at any rate.




    The Norse on the move... Note the axes, its about time the looked like they should. The original MTW axes never really
    appealed to me anyway. Essentially I happy about that change.




    The Norse and HRE in action. I am very happy about the new redux unit stardard/banners and those command flagg aint
    that freakishly thick like in the original. Oh and check out those green trees! I like it like that (currently available in the
    Spanish fix actually).


    Ok that's it for now, anybody else with comments on the screens?

    - Cheers
    Last edited by Axalon; March 30, 2009 at 05:05 PM. Reason: My princess demanded it....

  13. #53

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Very cool, Axalon. Me likey.

    Out of curiosity, are the changes going to be mostly graphical/visual, or will there be other tweaks/updates as well?
    "Evil is easy, and has infinite forms." - Pascal

  14. #54

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Just finished putting together a new pc for myself.....cant wait to reinstall MTW and this mod............wow youve really outdone yourself.
    What resolutions and settings you take these screens on and whats your specs?.........These screens are beautiful.

  15. #55
    Axalon's Avatar She-Hulk wills it!
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Sverige
    Posts
    1,270

    Icon2 Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Hi all,

    Martok: glad you like ‘em. It was kind of the point with these pics to show what I believe to be yummy stuff that will be included in 3rd edition when it is finally released . As for you curiosity here….

    Well, it’s supposed to be heavy on the GFX this time around but there will be other non-graphical stuff included as well. After all it’s usually hard to avoid some fine-tuning and smaller additions. 3rd edition will not be different in that regard either. I will throw in some stuff here and there I think. My overall plan/agenda is to address all – what I regard as various weak points in redux – and make ‘em better or at least comply with the standards with the very best material that has been released for MTW (which mostly translates to various GFX things).

    There seems to be a popular demand that I make the Norse officially playable and that was my original intensions to have it so, but due to various hardcoded problems I abandoned that idea when I first released redux to the public. However, I will look into it again and see If can’t come up with an acceptable and functional solution for all that this time. I’ll be looking at some other factions as well (the Lombard’s, Hungary and Burgundy in particular).

    Btw, how did you fare with your redux campaign? The English normal (default-size) was it?
    Anything you want to share with me and others on that?


    --------
    Achilleslaststand: glad that you think so (they was kind of made with such intensions ). As for your questions here….

    SCREENS are taken on a 1280X1024 res initially and then shrunk into web and thread-friendly 800x600 (in Photoshop). SPECS on the PC the screens were taken:

    OS: Win2000 Pro
    CPU: Northwood Pentium4, 2,60 GHz
    MBoard: Intel D875PBZ
    GFX-card: Radeon 9700 Pro
    Drivers: ATI v.8.205.0.0 (released Apr ’06 I think it was).
    Direct X: 9.0c (Aug ‘06 I believe)
    Ram: 2 Gig DDR1-type

    This is the PC I usually work on… I Have another PC with better specs for other stuff - runs redux as well actually - but not the original game, how about that?!?


    --------
    On a general note for all redux-players: I got some other 3rd-edition screens (montages) for you redux-players here… This time I got some various info-pics on units and agents. I got one for various Christian/pagan units and one for Muslim units. As for the agents, I never really liked the ones found in the original game so I finally decided to make some new ones that goes a little easier on the eyes. At any rate, enjoy!





    Ok, from the top left corner; we got a princess, spy and in the second row we have an emissary, assassin and a bishop.
    So much for agents...




    Some units then... From the top left corrner; Polish hero, crossbowmen, Russian hero, Norse champion and finally some
    feudal champions looking mighty and ready to be your average badboy essentially.




    Moving on to the domains of Muslims then... Top left corner. Ghazi-warriors, Ghazi-warlords, Moorish/Saracen raiders,
    Moorish mercenaries and finally some Ghazi-fanatics.


    Ok, that’s it for now.

    - Cheers
    Last edited by Axalon; March 30, 2009 at 05:08 PM. Reason: The princess union is giving me a hard time...

  16. #56
    Marku's Avatar Domesticus
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    2,230

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    really nice previews, cant wait for your next release!

    "It's not always possible to do what we want to do, but it's important to believe in something before you actually do it"

  17. #57
    Axalon's Avatar She-Hulk wills it!
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Sverige
    Posts
    1,270

    Icon2 Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Hi Marku (glad you liked the screens btw) and all other redux players,

    It has been a while since I was around this place (busy working with 3rd ED) and I thought that some updates on the progress might be in order here. Now, MTW-redux 1.0c (3rd edition) is scheduled to be released to the public: 20th Feb. 2009 and then within a week after that the VI-upgrade version for it will also be released. Needless to say, all former redux-material will be withdrawn and declared obsolete from that point on (you can still learn the basics of MTW-redux while using 2nd edition until 3rd edition is released of course).

    For those of you who might wonder what new stuff will be included in that edition I can only say that it will be plenty of stuff – rest assured. In my mind there is no doubt that it will be the best and most complete version of redux released to date – in every sense. I am confident that you guys will come to the same conclusion once you get the chance to play it.

    Once the VI-upgrade for it is also released I have finally done everything I intended to do with basic redux and thus my work will probably be done with it (unless a major bug is found. I also fully admit that I have had to kill a few darlings in order get to this point). Anyway, maybe I’ll post up another round of screens before the release – we’ll see.


    - Cheers

  18. #58
    Axalon's Avatar She-Hulk wills it!
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Sverige
    Posts
    1,270

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Hi all redux-players,

    The release of 3rd edition will be delayed a few days because I want to run some decent tests first before I release it. As stated before, I did plan to release 3rd edition today but unfortunately I simply have not had the time to do any proper and overall testing so that’s why I delay the release. For this I am sorry, but it is better and safer this way. So, a few more days guys….

    - Cheers


    EDIT:
    -------------------------------------
    For those of you who might be wondering when 3rd edition of redux is going to be released –
    I would say that it is likely to happen sometime this month. Of course I’ll post around here as
    soon as I’m done and have released it – rest assured.


    - Cheers (again)
    Last edited by Axalon; March 07, 2009 at 02:27 AM. Reason: update

  19. #59

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Since a pc upgrade ive missed playing shogan/mtw, so if theres a chance your mod can in some way make mtw work again im gonna give it a go

  20. #60
    Axalon's Avatar She-Hulk wills it!
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Sverige
    Posts
    1,270

    Default Re: Medieval Total War - Redux 1.0b

    Hello FB_Bob,

    Well, how about trying to install and run current version of redux on your PC (or even an auxillary one)? I mean just to make sure it actually don’t work for you? So you can exclude that possibility once and for all? Why speculate? Why not find out for sure? After that you can (if need be) ponder what to do and maybe I’ll got some pointers on what to do or how to proceed. At any rate, I have a hard time imagining you getting sorry for trying regardless how it turns out. Most people seem to like redux very much so….

    - Cheers

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •