Third Age and Stainless Steel

[Hobonicus]

I apologize in advance if I seem like a noob or a leech; with all the projects I have currently I don’t really have time to learn everything I can about M2TW modding, so hopefully I can get some easy enough answers here. I understand that total conversion mods are separate, but I don’t exactly get how much is changed.

I want to get back into playing, but can’t really decide between Third Age and Stainless Steel. I’d love to play on a different world map and Middle Earth seems especially cool, but I’ve heard Stainless Steel makes the actual gameplay, balance, and difficulty a lot more enjoyable. So I’m wondering if Third Age also has similar AI and balance alterations, or if its big draw is mostly aesthetic.

I want to get back into the series with a fresh, enjoyable mod and I’ve heard that once you play Stainless Steel you can never go back to vanilla, but playing a campaign in Middle Earth also seems very appealing. If anyone more knowledgeable on how these mods work can help me out I’d really appreciate it. I’ve glanced over some info but it’s a bit too overwhelming to get a full picture, especially with all the submobs to take into account.

Speaking of submods, how exactly do those work? Should I be using a lot of them? Are some already incorporated? I realize this is all a matter of taste, but any personal direction would be great. Thanks for any and all help

[nhytgbvfeco2]

hello
well,both third age and stainless steel are from the same creator...the 2 most popular mods are from the same person,doesnt that say something already?

well you can just get both and try them out,i have them both and when i feel like being in the real world,SS.
if i feel like middle earth,then TA...both are awesome,i recommend you try both

[el Cid]

If you want a LOTR experience, go for TA.

If you want improved gameplay, go for SS.

[nhytgbvfeco2]

thats what i said....oh well

[The Holy Pilgrim]

I apologize in advance if I seem like a noob or a leech; with all the projects I have currently I don’t really have time to learn everything I can about M2TW modding, so hopefully I can get some easy enough answers here. I understand that total conversion mods are separate, but I don’t exactly get how much is changed.

I want to get back into playing, but can’t really decide between Third Age and Stainless Steel. I’d love to play on a different world map and Middle Earth seems especially cool, but I’ve heard Stainless Steel makes the actual gameplay, balance, and difficulty a lot more enjoyable. So I’m wondering if Third Age also has similar AI and balance alterations, or if its big draw is mostly aesthetic.

I want to get back into the series with a fresh, enjoyable mod and I’ve heard that once you play Stainless Steel you can never go back to vanilla, but playing a campaign in Middle Earth also seems very appealing. If anyone more knowledgeable on how these mods work can help me out I’d really appreciate it. I’ve glanced over some info but it’s a bit too overwhelming to get a full picture, especially with all the submobs to take into account.

Speaking of submods, how exactly do those work? Should I be using a lot of them? Are some already incorporated? I realize this is all a matter of taste, but any personal direction would be great. Thanks for any and all help

Firstly, welcome to the forums my friend! Nice to see a new face around here. I'm getting kind of tired of JAL's face anyways

It is very much possible to have both mods at the same time (lord knows I do). I recommend getting them both, and RR/RC to go with them. They just improve the game beyond all reason

[Kahvipannu]

SS has way more better campaign and gameplay, but TATW captures perfectly Lotr world. And yes it's true, once you go for SS, there's no return to vanilla, it's just THAT good

And like HolyPilgrim told, get RR/RC submod for them, they add a lot more content to these already great mods.

[Protestant Knight]

I personally like TATW better then SS but I play both it just depends I what you are looking for if you wont the sack London as Scotland then go for SS but if you wont burn and pillage the shire with Isengard go for TATW but if you go for SS I like 6.1 I had problem with 6.3

P.S. this is probably the wrong place to ask this question

[GabberJoop]

There both awesome, thought the turns in SS are quite slow.

[Jackie Treehorn]

I have also both mods. SS and TATW, though I have to say I started with TATW and this mod is just great. SS is also very good, especially with the Submod Baltic Total War. Anyway, the mods are great and also the submods. Something like FROME, RR/RC, VAO give you hours and hours of fun. The good thing on those mods is that you can have them all in Parallel, since they do not change the Vanilla M2TW installation.

[Milligon]

There both awesome, thought the turns in SS are quite slow.

I agree as it is very slow as the campaign gets into the later stages. It is painfully slow, as turns can take at least 2-3 minutes. However, SS, this, and EB are the only 3 mods I play so its bearable enough for me to keep playing it.

[Hobonicus]

Thanks for all the replies

I'm starting with Third Age, but I downloaded version 2.1 without first checking the submods' compatibilities. is 2.1 worth it without submods like RR/RC or should I go for version 1.4.1 instead?

[nhytgbvfeco2]

Thanks for all the replies

I'm starting with Third Age, but I downloaded version 2.1 without first checking the submods' compatibilities. is 2.1 worth it without submods like RR/RC or should I go for version 1.4.1 instead?

you did get 2.0 and then 2.1 right?
if it wasent worth it without submods i dont think they would have released a new version lol,its definetly worth it.

[The Holy Pilgrim]

you did get 2.0 and then 2.1 right?
if it wasent worth it without submods i dont think they would have released a new version lol,its definetly worth it.

umm...

yes, yes they would.

[achilis]

first 2.0, but I think u know