Quick KGCM Survey

[Dave Scarface]

Hey all,

I just thought it would be a nice idea to make a short survey for my mod where I can gather information in one thread. This is because feedback is often scattered around the forum in lots of different places. So let me put these questions to you, and we can try to get a better understanding of how KGCM is percieved by the fans, some of these answers may also be useful to modders working on submods.

1. How long have you been playing KGCM for now? and would you say that the mod has gradually got better for you over time?

2. What factions do you enjoy playing the most and why?

3. How difficult do you find this mod to play? do you remove AI cheats or use any cheats yourself?

4. Have you ever lost a campaign in KGCM? and how many times have you tasted a defeat?

5. Did you ever experience a bug in KGCM that stopped your enjoyment of the mod?

6. If you had not found KGCM do you think you would still be playing M2TW?

7. How would you compare KGCM to other mods for M2TW? would you say it was one of the most playable and fun, or would you say it was not that good when compared with others?

8. What is your favourite feature in KGCM? what do you love about this mod the most? the epic map? expanded vanilla feel? campaign difficulty? addition of all the Kingdoms stuff? campaign balance?

9. What would you honestly say this mod was missing the most? and what should I have done differently in development for KGCM? Please feel free to share your opinions guys.

10. On a scale of 1-10 please give this mod a score which you feel it deserves.

Thank you, and I hope you can answer all of my questions in this survey and not just a few

best wishes,
Dave

[Ak1980]

1. 2-3 month.

2. Norway, TO, Russian. I like strong infantry faction backed by capable cavalary and unique unit.

3. Quite good, no cheat.

4. More than a dozen, mostly in norway and russian campaign. Norway have 3-4 enemy at once, Russia crappy starting troop, need to wait for long time before it can produce quality troop.

5. Vassalage, give to much money. Up to 120k, basically ruin the game.
Ai don't respect city, too easy to give them.
Making vassalage and asking the city not an option for me now.

6. Nope.

7. Most playable and fun.

8. Combination of all of that, the epic map, expanded vanilla feel, campaign difficulty, addition of all the Kingdoms stuff, campaign balance. Basically this is the way the vanila supposed to be.

9. Ai Garrison script, too overpowered. It ruin Ai vs Ai fight. For example there is no way England can defeat wales and ireland. Most of the time i see england try to siege wales, got defeated by garrison script, en got counter attack.

10. 8.5 point, i give 10 only to Dune2, Master of Orion, and Xcom: Ufo defense ^^

[Dave Scarface]

5. Vassalage, give to much money. Up to 120k, basically ruin the game.
Ai don't respect city, too easy to give them.
Making vassalage and asking the city not an option for me now.

Excellent point, thank you very much for that! this is precisely why I am running a survey days before I release KGCM patch 4.2. I want your real opinions, and I welcome your ideas, its not too late to still influence the final patch for KGCM.

Dave

[Daigu]

1. Been playing about a month now, so I can't say.

2. I really enjoy Egypt because of the different units and defending against Crusades, Turks and Byzantines because Horse Archers are awesome, Denmark for their burlyaxesmashawesomeness, KOJ because with a bit of conquest I can get Knights that start at 5 experience (yes it's ridiculous), and finally Sicily because of unique units but still Italian militia.

3. It's slightly more difficult than vanilla, but with alliances actually meaning something it's sometimes easier! I've removed the garrison script because the AI doesn't seem to know what to do when it kicks in.

4. Nope never lost a campaign, yet.

5. Nothing that stopped my enjoyment but the faction flags for some Kingdoms factions aren't working like I've said.

6. Yes definitely, it's an infinitely replayable game. Once Empire becomes worth it, I might turn some of my attention over to it, but I truly enjoy this time period.

7. I haven't played any others so I can't compare.

8. Favorite feature would be the expanded and stretched map, more regions = way way more fun. The large map also makes maneuvering possible, and also gives this a more epic feel. The improved AI is another great feature, and alliances meaning something.

9. I would say that the worst thing is the unbalanced Mongols, they still destroy everything they come up against, rather than being a good balanced faction. Another bug, which is also in vanilla, is that sometimes when recruiting units they don't get whatever xp or armour or weapon upgrades that they're entitled to from the castle, nor do they always get them when retraining, it's very strange, and can be very frustrating.

10. Definitely an 8.

[Bitlaslt]

1.About month
2. Lithuania
Teutonic order.

3. Perfect (i am playing h/h) it's not easy ,but not so hard either.

4. Yep.
I was playing without alliance and was crushed by orthodox,catholic and Islam priests
Towns rebels against me and AI takes easy shot .

5. I don't like that as pagan i can't advance my cities to large (like in kingdom campaigning).It's not historical correct.
P.S: You forgot to remove flaming arrows from Baltic archers.

6. I had break from MDTW2 for a year or more.I am playing yours mod right now only(almost 3 weeks and not a half campaigning done )

7. ---

8. Balance .IMHO mods like SS just push too much.KGCM gives a better game play experience overall,

9.Making faction's more accurate.(like Lithuanians wasn't pagan's freak show who had scary religious army .)

10. 9(like my dean say ,never give a 10.Leave room to improve).



SRY for my English.

[The Holy Pilgrim]

1. I've been playing this mod for 3-4 months.

2. I like playing as either Ireland, Spain, Kievan Rus, or the Aztecs. I typically play underdog factions because I like a challenge.

3. THis mod is tougher than vanilla, but not too tough. I don't use cheats and I just let the AI do whatever.

4. When I was Kievan Rus, the Mongols almost destroyed me. I had 12 cities/castles before their invasion and I was left with 4. They annihilated most of my family and army. On the plus side though, one general of mine had 9 stars after the war (he had 2 when it started). He also had 2 gold chevrons.

5. No bugs distracted me from this mod. I love it!

6. Yes, I love M2TW, but this mod has done a great job of making the game more enjoyable and keeping the vanilla feel to it.

7. I would say this is very playable and very fun. Every mod has their own goal (Third Age- Lord of the Rings/Stainless Steel- Realism/THERA- Uniqueness) and I say you guys accomplished your goal very well.

8. My two most favorite things about this mod is the vanilla feel and the addition of all of the Kingdoms stuff. It's pretty much an enhanced M2TW (now if only they had something like this for Rome!)

9. I wish this mod had at least one other American faction (reason for my submod) to play with and some more Americas features (pitch black in the new world like the campaign and Warpaths). The Aztecs seen pretty lonesome over their in Mexico while Europe has 28 factions crowded together. Other than that, this mod is not missing anything that does not pertain to its goal. And I miss William Wallace from the Britannia campaign and the mini-crusades going against Lithuania pushing them to become Catholic.

10. I give this mod a 9 because it has (almost) everything I'm looking for. (see above ^)

[BReal]

1. 3 weeks

2. Norway, Denmark, Wales, Ireland (dunno why, I just do)

3. The difficulty is okay. I've slowly moved towards H/H and it's still playable (as, I have to make some effort but I still can win)

4. Haven't played that long.

5. Nope

6. Yes

7. It's a great mod which improves the already present things and adds few factions (which is more than welcome IMO)

8. Everything

9. As stated above, more accurate factions (although I understand that the original reason was to just add the nations from expansions).

10. 9.5 (Because nothing is perfect, really. There's always somethign to fix, something to make better)

[Dave Scarface]

So not too hard then eh guys? Time for me to turn the screws on you even tighter

[BReal]

Oh shi-

[Darviathar]

1. How long have you been playing KGCM for now? and would you say that the mod has gradually got better for you over time? Started last spring after getting tired of Stainless Steel tedium and slow pace of DLV

2. What factions do you enjoy playing the most and why? Byzantium...I'm a huge Roman honk first and foremost, but I also enjoy the "alone against the world" aspect. I also dabble in games with the Turks and Antioch. I enjoy the East and Outremer more than the over-crowded total catholic west.

3. How difficult do you find this mod to play? do you remove AI cheats or use any cheats yourself? As Byzantium its not terribly difficult. Even at war with 5 factions I'm able to hold borders and weather the storm while I build up infrastructure to produce better troops than the starter spears. Venice and Sicily continuously attack Durazzo into the teeth of a strong garrison, losing badly. I've never been attacked t Corinth. I secure Sofia and Preslav to check the Hungarians to the north immediately, and can usually force humiliating peace terms on the Hungarians and Turks early on. It is a lot harder to play as the Turks or Antioch. I simply don't make the kind of money that I am used to as Byzantium. As for cheats, the only thing I do is toggle_fow to look at the map just to see what's going on elsewhere (without looking at the screen to spot units). This game is easy enough without cheating.

4. Have you ever lost a campaign in KGCM? and how many times have you tasted a defeat? No, but I would enjoy this far more than getting so far ahead that I get bored and start over!

5. Did you ever experience a bug in KGCM that stopped your enjoyment of the mod? In my recent game as the Turks, and invisible assassin managed to kill off Nur-Adin, who was 10 in all 3 attributes at the time. I had spies in the area and never saw the assassin. Twice after that any family member/general moving through the Iconium province would suffer the same fate. I've never seen the assassin.

6. If you had not found KGCM do you think you would still be playing M2TW? Yes. I come and go with the game. I'll read something about history and get the bug to play again.

7. How would you compare KGCM to other mods for M2TW? would you say it was one of the most playable and fun, or would you say it was not that good when compared with others? It is my favorite for several reasons. #1 it includes Antioch, making the outremer area less of a foregone conclusion. The map is more balanced. IMO, the Kwarizmian faction ruins Stainless Steel, as they have lots of wealthy land that no other faction ever contests. #2 I like the fact that there aren't so many rebel cities...The computer always expands slowly when surrounded by rebels.

8. What is your favourite feature in KGCM? what do you love about this mod the most? the epic map? expanded vanilla feel? campaign difficulty? addition of all the Kingdoms stuff? campaign balance? The epic map and choice of factions. I am a bit of a pureist myself, and regard factions created by third parties as something of "filler" factions that are often inbalanced and less interesting. I love the fact that old units are turned obselete and disappear as garrisons advance. This prevents the computer from fielding crappy militia armies against my Varangians and Catarphracts.

9. What would you honestly say this mod was missing the most? and what should I have done differently in development for KGCM? Please feel free to share your opinions guys. The Timurids! That is my only complaint. I want more action in outremer and something to "look forward to". I'm not sure how you could make the campaign any harder without making it less fun. For example: I like to carefully put together and field large armies and choosing my best family members to lead them. I don't want a mod that keeps my faction so desperately poor that I cannot afford to field armies. I just wish the AI would understand the need to assemble full stacks led by generals, not captains. I suspect this is just a hard-coded weakness, but I'd love to see more "epic battles". I'd like to see cavalry improved, with perhaps the cost being more prohibitive to balance. My cavalry units always suffer horrible attrition even when used properly simply due to hand to hand fighting against much larger stacks of infantry. I'm not sure if it isn't just me, but it seems that units accrue experience *very* slowly; most of my units have at most 2 bronze chevrons, even when carefully maintained and participating in non-simmed battles. I like the feeling of "taking care" of units and watching them improve, rather than regarding all as the same and virtual throw-aways.

10. On a scale of 1-10 please give this mod a score which you feel it deserves. Nine. I wouldn't mind a military rank system similar to what is present in DLV. I really like to micro manage my family members. I stayed with Rome: Total War for a long time after MTW 2 was released because of that.

[Grislok]

1. Started back 3.0 and found the mod because it was the only one with trouble-free hotseat, and dload was simple because I was computer illiterate. Absolutely continued to get better.
2. My rate of play is slow and a full campaign takes me several months, but I have enjoyed Aztec, HRE, Lithuanian and Turk campaigns. Loved Turk campaign as it was first time I embraced horse archers. Aztec, Lithuanian and HRE blast because so hard.
3. I always play VH/VH and never use cheats, FOW off etc. I do not play Dave's Ironman ruleset to a tee but I am very close. Do not know how or what it means to disable AI cheats.
4. Yes...at least six times. Twice with KOJ.
5. Never a buzzkill bug. Had the stray soldier who was unkillable a few times and some weak AI assaults on cities or forts( If they just would not line up in front of the inner bastions defenses before their siege equipment arrived it would be perfect, as I destroy their remnants while they stand there and take it.
6. No....SS and Third Age not my cup of tea and the challenge of KGCM always compelling....I still have not tried English and TO which people have said are hard and I greatly anticipate attempting.
7. It's the whip, man. Redundant question.
8. The map and the most excellent challenge. I will be very pleased when the heroes are enabled.
9. I like some new visuals and am not as hardcore about maintaining vanilla uniforms, flags etc. Also, you have explained that merchants are still vanilla in behavior but I think they need to be not so aggressive. In my beta testing games my merchants were hunted off map and this is just unrealistic.
10. As I play no other, nor think any out there are worth my valuable time, I will offer up the 10.

@Darv...what is a huge Roman honk?
@anyone who said it is not hard enough...I am still waiting to see a victorious Aztec campaign screen from anyone.

[Darviathar]

1. Started back 3.0 and found the mod because it was the only one with trouble-free hotseat, and dload was simple because I was computer illiterate. Absolutely continued to get better.
2. My rate of play is slow and a full campaign takes me several months, but I have enjoyed Aztec, HRE, Lithuanian and Turk campaigns. Loved Turk campaign as it was first time I embraced horse archers. Aztec, Lithuanian and HRE blast because so hard.
3. I always play VH/VH and never use cheats, FOW off etc. I do not play Dave's Ironman ruleset to a tee but I am very close. Do not know how or what it means to disable AI cheats.
4. Yes...at least six times. Twice with KOJ.
5. Never a buzzkill bug. Had the stray soldier who was unkillable a few times and some weak AI assaults on cities or forts( If they just would not line up in front of the inner bastions defenses before their siege equipment arrived it would be perfect, as I destroy their remnants while they stand there and take it.
6. No....SS and Third Age not my cup of tea and the challenge of KGCM always compelling....I still have not tried English and TO which people have said are hard and I greatly anticipate attempting.
7. It's the whip, man. Redundant question.
8. The map and the most excellent challenge. I will be very pleased when the heroes are enabled.
9. I like some new visuals and am not as hardcore about maintaining vanilla uniforms, flags etc. Also, you have explained that merchants are still vanilla in behavior but I think they need to be not so aggressive. In my beta testing games my merchants were hunted off map and this is just unrealistic.
10. As I play no other, nor think any out there are worth my valuable time, I will offer up the 10.

@Darv...what is a huge Roman honk?
@anyone who said it is not hard enough...I am still waiting to see a victorious Aztec campaign screen from anyone.

Roman honk...It means basically I'm a huge fan of everything Roman. Honk is a term more often applied with someone who is a huge fan of a sports team, but I use it a lot because all of my friends are sports fans.

[The Holy Pilgrim]

I'll try the Aztec campaign! And I'll win (probably not)

[Frunk]

"1. How long have you been playing KGCM for now? and would you say that the mod has gradually got better for you over time?"

Since about June earlier this year. Through a combination of new patches and a few key sub-mods it's definitely improved over time.

"2. What factions do you enjoy playing the most and why?"

Wales, because their small and have two distinctive possible paths when played (either fight Ireland or fight England), and of course they are my ancestry ; Aztecs, of course, because of their uniqueness and seclusion. I also enjoy Norway, because they're challenging, and just generally like to play Ireland, Scotland and Portugal, among others, from time to time as well.

"3. How difficult do you find this mod to play? do you remove AI cheats or use any cheats yourself?"

I find this mod incredibly difficult and that's the way I like it. I do not cheat in anyway as this enhances the gameplay experience in my opinion. I almost always play with H/H settings, and control all cities.

"4. Have you ever lost a campaign in KGCM? and how many times have you tasted a defeat?"

To tell you the truth I don't recall actually having played through a campaign.

"5. Did you ever experience a bug in KGCM that stopped your enjoyment of the mod?"

Not that I can recall.

"6. If you had not found KGCM do you think you would still be playing M2TW?"

I presume so. Before M2TW I'd only ever played M1TW, and the former is greatly superior in my opinion. Therefore, as the latter was my favourite game before this one, it was inevitable that M2TW would replace it. That said, it was also inevitable that I would find KGCM, as I wanted a mod that added Ireland and Wales to the game - and KGCM does that and more! (Thus Wales is a sticking point for me )

"7. How would you compare KGCM to other mods for M2TW? would you say it was one of the most playable and fun, or would you say it was not that good when compared with others?"

As this was the first mod I found and I enjoyed it so much more than Vanilla, I haven't bothered even downloading any other mods.

"8. What is your favourite feature in KGCM? what do you love about this mod the most? the epic map? expanded vanilla feel? campaign difficulty? addition of all the Kingdoms stuff? campaign balance?"

The epic map; expanded vanilla feel; campaign difficulty; addition of all the Kingdoms stuff; campaign balance - I think you took the words right out of my fingers, Dave. But I suppose my favourite of those would be the addition of new factions - as that's what I was looking for in a mod.

"9. What would you honestly say this mod was missing the most? and what should I have done differently in development for KGCM? Please feel free to share your opinions guys."

I know this won't help your survey much but honestly I can't think of anything.

"10. On a scale of 1-10 please give this mod a score which you feel it deserves."

Since I haven't played any other mods I suppose I can't honestly give this a 10. 9.5/10.

[Dave Scarface]

9. What would you honestly say this mod was missing the most? and what should I have done differently in development for KGCM? Please feel free to share your opinions guys. The Timurids! That is my only complaint. I want more action in outremer and something to "look forward to". I'm not sure how you could make the campaign any harder without making it less fun. For example: I like to carefully put together and field large armies and choosing my best family members to lead them. I don't want a mod that keeps my faction so desperately poor that I cannot afford to field armies. I just wish the AI would understand the need to assemble full stacks led by generals, not captains. I suspect this is just a hard-coded weakness, but I'd love to see more "epic battles". I'd like to see cavalry improved, with perhaps the cost being more prohibitive to balance. My cavalry units always suffer horrible attrition even when used properly simply due to hand to hand fighting against much larger stacks of infantry. I'm not sure if it isn't just me, but it seems that units accrue experience *very* slowly; most of my units have at most 2 bronze chevrons, even when carefully maintained and participating in non-simmed battles. I like the feeling of "taking care" of units and watching them improve, rather than regarding all as the same and virtual throw-aways.

Good post, what I certainly don't want to do in the last patch is make the mod less fun. I am aware of making that mistake. What I have done in patch 4.2 instead is improve AI a bit, also battle mechanics, and XP bonuses for AI units. This doesn't touch the economy at all and makes the mod a bit harder. But will not affect income levels. I am also throwing in my tougher diplomacy from KGCM Age of Discovery. Basically alliances are harder to get but they work the same once you have them and are reliable. You may have to pay money now for trade rights and especially alliances. And you won't get much for free anymore. From playing hotseat I learn't that players were able to get what they wanted from the AI very easily. The AI is no longer such a pushover in diplomacy.

Dave

[Darviathar]

Good post, what I certainly don't want to do in the last patch is make the mod less fun. I am aware of making that mistake. What I have done in patch 4.2 instead is improve AI a bit, also battle mechanics, and XP bonuses for AI units. This doesn't touch the economy at all and makes the mod a bit harder. But will not affect income levels. I am also throwing in my tougher diplomacy from KGCM Age of Discovery. Basically alliances are harder to get but they work the same once you have them and are reliable. You may have to pay money now for trade rights and especially alliances. And you won't get much for free anymore. From playing hotseat I learn't that players were able to get what they wanted from the AI very easily. The AI is no longer such a pushover in diplomacy.

Dave

I can see a need for better diplomacy now that I've played a Catholic faction. Playing as Venice, I was offered an alliance (although I never sought one) by all of my catholic neighbors. I started slow, kept my cities well-garrisoned, and didn't attack anyone for a while. I am used to playing as Byzantium, where an alliance with anyone is rather difficult to come by. I assume this is due to the Byzantine Orthodox religion.

[Incontinenta Buttox]

1. How long have you been playing KGCM for now? and would you say that the mod has gradually got better for you over time?

A couple of years now. It keeps on improving.

2. What factions do you enjoy playing the most and why?

Byzantium for the different feel. Portugal & Spain for the interesting situation in Iberia. England because I'm English, and I like longbows

3. How difficult do you find this mod to play? do you remove AI cheats or use any cheats yourself?

The hardest mod out there, A tough challenge without having to resort to putting you 1000's of florins in debt by turn 2. Like some other mods.

4. Have you ever lost a campaign in KGCM? and how many times have you tasted a defeat?

Lost quite a few. Norway, Byzantium, Antioch.

5. Did you ever experience a bug in KGCM that stopped your enjoyment of the mod?

No never.

6. If you had not found KGCM do you think you would still be playing M2TW?

No.

7. How would you compare KGCM to other mods for M2TW? would you say it was one of the most playable and fun, or would you say it was not that good when compared with others?

Still the best I have played. Especially suitable for hotseating.

8. What is your favourite feature in KGCM? what do you love about this mod the most? the epic map? expanded vanilla feel? campaign difficulty? addition of all the Kingdoms stuff? campaign balance?

I do thike the big map. It's what first drew me to the mod. But it's the excellent multiplayer options and balance.

9. What would you honestly say this mod was missing the most? and what should I have done differently in development for KGCM? Please feel free to share your opinions guys.

It needs better skins.

10. On a scale of 1-10 please give this mod a score which you feel it deserves.

9/10

Thank you, and I hope you can answer all of my questions in this survey and not just a few

Cheers Dave.

[Ak1980]

@Grislock
VH/VH with XAI 3.4
Close enough to win, 32 province in 72 turn and 152k in bank.
I cannot bring my will to finish it. It became tedious, train all free unit, make a stack bring to front,
siege every city, block all bridge. repeat until win.......

My money suppose to be 50k, but after i vassalage (ireland or wales?) in turn 69 i got 100k from them. Only realise that after 2 turn. Never save the game so i don't have savegame before i vassalage them. Even if i win this campaign, well my mind keep saying this is kind of cheat

IMHO kind of gaming the system using free troop only and disband all else

[Grislok]

I guess I do not really understand the cheat, but 32 provinces in 72 turns=Gris shut your mouth.

[Darviathar]

If possible, I would like to see the effectiveness of rams reduced. Too frequently a single ram runs the gauntlet of missile fire, reaches the door, and the computer funnels all of his troops into a bloodbath.