USA Unlocked in 1700: A Lite Mod
Basic Description: This modified startpos.esf file unlocks the United States in the "normal" Grand Campaign starting in 1700. I wanted to create a starting scenario that would give you the feel of being the leader of the United States DURING the early 18th Century (rather than pushing up the Revolutionary War to an earlier date). Even though you are independent in the game, your diplomatic starting position will obligate you to get involved with Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies should they get into trouble--just like what happened historically during the French and Indian War.
I did not modify anything else--excepting the starting regions and diplomatic relations for balance and immersion purposes. No other factions, no unit stat or unit list or unit skin changes. Hence, the "Lite Mod."
Compatibility:
· This mod is compatible with all DLC packs and the latest version of the game available via Steam. Assuming you have Elite Units of the West and Elite Units of America, these units will be available just as the DLC documentation described. I have all DLC packs and the latest version, and it ran smooth as silk for about 8 hours (and then I went to bed).
· THIS MOD IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH OTHER STARTPOS.ESF MODS!!!! Sorry...but you can only have one Startpos.esf at a time.
Known Issues:
· NO VICTORY CONDITIONS--You cannot win the game--only play it.
· NO FACTION DESCRIPTION--Only described as an Emergent on selection screen.
· The portrait for the United States on the Grand Campaign faction selection screen does not update properly--it will show whatever portrait was last displayed. All portraits display normally once in game.
· When you start the game, the campaign camera will be in a very weird location on the edge of a trade theatre. Just click anywhere on the mini-map and the camera will jump to the new location and you can continue normally.
· For some reason you cannot research Empiricism or Physiocracy on turn 1. However, they become available to research on turn 2.
· EDITED 4/29/10: Some users are reporting CTD relatively early in the campaign. Only 3 users have told me this is happening...and I am unable to replicate this myself. It seems to have something to do with the Barbary States offering peace. In a day or so, I will repost the file with the Barbary States already being at peace with the United States so hopefully this glitch can be avoided.
· If your game has crashed, please post in this thread! Include everything that happened that turn...or better yet, zip your savegame and send it to me and maybe I can track down this CTD. Seeing as this mod has (in theory) 73 users, it seems that not everyone has the bug and I'd like to figure out what is going on between the users that experience the CTD...maybe there is something other than meets the eye going on.
How to Install:
· Download the attached .zip file. Extract it and place the startpos.esf in [...]Steam/steamapps/common/empire total war/data/campaigns/main
· You may want to back up the original startpos.esf in case something goes wrong
· Start up the game normally, go to the Grand Campaign and Select the United States
· Have Fun!
Starting Position:
Treasury: 9000 "Bucks"--a little bit more than the other powers, but frankly, with things about to hit the fan with France, Spain, and the Native Americans you need all the money you can get.
Regions: New York and Confederation of New England--why you may ask? Well, the simple answer is the method I used to make this mod didn't allow me to acquire Philadelphia and ALL the other territories from the Thirteen Colonies without causing a crash when the game loaded.
o Historical Explanation: Long before the Revolution, Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan of "union" at the Albany Congress during the French and Indian War period. The idea would allow the Thirteen Colonies to be independent, yet still subject to British rule. The idea was supposedly widely accepted by the Congress in Albany, but was unanimously rejected by sitting colonial assemblies and the British government. During the same period, Boston was a hot-spot for the growing anti-British sentiment in the colonies and it only intensified as the decades went on. Thus those two regions are primed to be the "centers of United States independence" before the 1770's, making them the natural representations of "the United States" when the Grand Campaign begins. Further, representatives from Pennsylvania created the Galloway Plan, a 1774 proposal that would have kept the United States part of the British Empire--demonstrating that even as late as 1774 the impetus to separate from Great Britain was not felt everywhere...including Philadelphia. That's still a stretch but for you historical role-players out there, it should be enough.
· New York: The trading port in New York has been replaced with a Shipyard.
· Confederation of New England: New Haven has been turned from a non-emerged town into a School. All other major factions start with a school-type building, so should the United States or else the player can't compete. Besides, it is my understanding some sort of higher education institution was found there around the time period beginning the game (even if it was a seminary at the time).
· Special Note on Philadelphia: If you conquer Philadelphia it will become the capital of the United States.
Starting Technology:
· Social Contract. Should be relatively self-explanatory: With the emphasis on legal rights and elected representatives in colonial charters, the United States started behaving like it had a social contract long before the term entered English philosophy, making this the clear starting tech for the game. It also has a higher value for tech trading with other powers--helping the player make up for the back-water school in New Haven.
Starting Diplomatic Relations:
· Alliances, Trade Agreements, and Mutual Military Access with Great Britain and Thirteen Colonies: Reflecting how almost all Americans in 1700 thought of themselves as being British subjects (with a little more local autonomy) starting allied and as trading partners with the other English-speaking powers in the game was the natural way to reflect that. It also serves as a mechanic that can get your fledgling pre-Revolution United States involved in Great Britain's wars with France and Spain as that's what happened historically. Mutual Military Access reflects how the Colonies and English holdings were considered "one nation" despite being divided into different colonies.
· YOU STILL HAVE ONE OPEN OVERSEAS TRADING SLOT!!! Make sure to assign it.
Starting Armies and Navies:
· NONE!! Sorry...the method I used to create this mod wouldn't let me create starting armies and navies for you without crashing when the game loaded from a fresh install.
Starting Gentlemen and Rakes:
· NONE!! See above comments. Trying to do this caused a crash on a fresh install.
Closing Remarks and Special Thanks:
I had been waiting for a mod like this for quite some time--I just wanted to play with the United States faction starting in 1700. Other modders, I felt, added way too much or changed the Grand Campaign too dramatically. Eventually, I got the gumption to sit down and do this little project. Veteran modders may see these changes as simple, but it took me a good three days of work to get this working just right.
While I made all the changes to the original startpos.esf myself, I want to give some special thanks to husserlTW, Lazy Knight, and erasmus77 for writing their excellent posts/tutorials and tools as well as how they just linked everything together. I want to thank them and everyone else who worked on the EsfEditors and the countless reference documents I consulted while trying to decrypt the original startpos.esf. Really, the whole mod community helped me with this project, and I hope you all like the way it turned out.
Feel free to use this Startpos.esf as part of another mod--just be sure to link everyone back here when you post yours so they can have a Lite version.