[Mircro-Mod] Extra Unit Info and/or Longer Battles

[Casual Tactician]

Hi, there. I've made two tiny submods for the latest version, i.e. for EOD II - Lycan Rising v1.02. You can also use it for v1.01 though.

General Info

• Both mirco-mods are 100% save-game compatible and don't cause or increase the risks of CTDs.
• You can use both together OR only one, i.e. only the Extra Unit Info or only the Longer Battles micro-mod.
• The attached file includes both micro-mods and a backup of both original files (just in case).

release: February 3rd, 2012

Extra Unit Info v1.2

Note: Extra Unit Info v1.2 is a new version for EODII - Lycan Rising v1.02 with the corrections for the unit descriptions that were part of the v1.02 patch. It can be used with Lycan Rising v1.01 as well though.

For this micro-mod I've included information on range, ammo and attributes of all ranged weaopons in the the export_units.txt (EU). And new since v1.1: for units that have two melee weapons, there's also information on the secondary weapon and it's basic attack and charge stats. Here are some examples:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Installation:
- make a backup of the original file first!
- remove the brackets and their content from the modfiied export_units.txt
- place the export_units.txt in "Rome - Total War\BI\eod2\data\text"
- done!

release: February 3rd, 2012

Longer Battles v1.0

Note: Longer Battles v1.0 is a new version with files for 25%, 33% or 50% of the original lethality. Can be used for both EODII - Lycan Rising v1.01 and v1.02 without any restrictions, as the EDU isn't affected by the v1.02 patch.

So that everyone has more time to enjoy the atmospheric battles in EODII - Lycan Rising, and to implement his/her favourite tactics or to simply gaze at the splendid units, I've made some changes to make the battles last longer. These changes simply reflect my own preference for longer lasting battles and are in no way any kind of recommendation for other players.
Note: You can revert back the original EDU (and then back any of the LB v1.0 EDUs and back to... ) anytime during an ongoing campaign without any hassle whatsoever. So it's safe to try this micro-mod even during an ongoing campaign, and if you don't like any of the three versions, you can use the original EDU again.

The changes to the export_descr_unit.txt (EDU):
1a) Lethality of all melee weapons is reduced to 25% of the original value (in "[Longer Battles v1.0_25%]export_descr_unit.txt")
1b) Lethality of all melee weapons is reduced to 33% of the original value (in "[Longer Battles v1.0_33%]export_descr_unit.txt")
1c) Lethality of all melee weapons is reduced to 50% of the original value (in "[Longer Battles v1.0_50%]export_descr_unit.txt")
The following changes apply to all three Longer Battles EDUs:
2) All infantry spearmen have the spear_bonus_x reduced and the spear attribute replaced by light_spear.
3) The charge distance for many units has been reduced, and lies now betweem 30-40 meters. New since v0.9.
4) I gave the EDU an index to find the units faster, and the presentation has been polished to make things clearer. New since v0.9.
5) Additional EDU info-terms for all weapons (melee and ranged) make it easy to modify the lethality to your own liking, using the 'replace all' feature of such tools as notepad++. Example: replace all "0.250 ; SWORD 3" with "0.667 ; SWORD 3"... and voila! - it's done in less than 10 seconds.

Reasoning: The lower lethality reduces the kill ratio, so that units get knocked down more often instead of getting killed. The reduced spear_bonus_x (which adds x to attack vs cavalry) and the new light_spear attribute make infantry spearmen less deadly for cavalry, as spear adds +8 to attack vs cavalry whereas light_spear adds +8 to defense vs cavarly. And the reduction of the charge distance esp. for cavalry units is more manageable and also realistic (old values were up to 120m!) and make 'proper' cavalry charges more likely.

For indepth information on these EDU stats/attributes please view Aradan's excellent EDU guide.

The changes in detail:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++ LETHALITY CHANGES 25% +++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
in "[Longer Battles v1.0_25%]export_descr_unit.txt"

- Lethality down to 25% (:4) of original values.

ORG      NEW     Weapon / number of units        EDU INFO-TERM            

1.0    > 0.250   axe (x3; Yagrazil; +ap+L)       ; OGRE
1.0    > 0.250   knife (x1; Onagers; no ap)      ; "KNIFE"

1.0    > 0.250   sword (x12 cav+inf; no ap)      ; SWORD 3
0.9    > 0.225   sword (x73 cav+inf; no ap)      ; SWORD 2
0.85   > 0.213   sword (x67 cav+inf; no ap)      ; SWORD 1
0.80   > 0.213   sword (x1 cav; no ap)           ; SWORD 1

0.8    > 0.200   axe (x2; +ap)                   ; AXE 2
0.7    > 0.175   axe (x10; +ap)                  ; AXE 1
0.70   > 0.175   axe (x4; +ap)                   ; AXE 1

0.75   > 0.188   axe (x2 druid; no ap)           ; DRUID

0.8    > 0.188   spear (x2 only cav; no ap)      ; SPEAR 3
0.75   > 0.188   spear (x14 only cav; no ap)     ; SPEAR 3 
0.7    > 0.175   spear (x43 cav+inf;  no ap)     ; SPEAR 2
0.6    > 0.150   spear (x11 only inf; no ap)     ; SPEAR 1

no weaopn   ; NONE
ships       ; SHIP

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++ LETHALITY CHANGES 33% +++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
in "[Longer Battles v1.0_33%]export_descr_unit.txt"

- Lethality down to 33% (:3) of original values.

ORG      NEW     Weapon / number of units        EDU INFO-TERM            

1.0    > 0.333   axe (x3; Yagrazil; +ap+L)       ; OGRE
1.0    > 0.333   knife (x1; Onagers; no ap)      ; "KNIFE"

1.0    > 0.333   sword (x12 cav+inf; no ap)      ; SWORD 3
0.9    > 0.300   sword (x73 cav+inf; no ap)      ; SWORD 2
0.85   > 0.283   sword (x67 cav+inf; no ap)      ; SWORD 1
0.80   > 0.283   sword (x1 cav; no ap)           ; SWORD 1

0.8    > 0.267   axe (x2; +ap)                   ; AXE 2
0.7    > 0.233   axe (x10; +ap)                  ; AXE 1
0.70   > 0.233   axe (x4; +ap)                   ; AXE 1

0.75   > 0.250   axe (x2 druid; no ap)           ; DRUID

0.8    > 0.250   spear (x2 only cav; no ap)      ; SPEAR 3
0.75   > 0.250   spear (x14 only cav; no ap)     ; SPEAR 3 
0.7    > 0.233   spear (x43 cav+inf;  no ap)     ; SPEAR 2
0.6    > 0.200   spear (x11 only inf; no ap)     ; SPEAR 1

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++ LETHALITY CHANGES 50% +++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
in "[Longer Battles v1.0_50%]export_descr_unit.txt"

- Lethality down to 50% (:2) of original values.

ORG      NEW     Weapon / number of units        EDU INFO-TERM            

1.0    > 0.500   axe (x3; Yagrazil; +ap+L)       ; OGRE
1.0    > 0.500   knife (x1; Onagers; no ap)      ; "KNIFE"

1.0    > 0.500   sword (x12 cav+inf; no ap)      ; SWORD 3
0.9    > 0.450   sword (x73 cav+inf; no ap)      ; SWORD 2
0.85   > 0.425   sword (x67 cav+inf; no ap)      ; SWORD 1
0.80   > 0.425   sword (x1 cav; no ap)           ; SWORD 1

0.8    > 0.400   axe (x2; +ap)                   ; AXE 2
0.7    > 0.350   axe (x10; +ap)                  ; AXE 1
0.70   > 0.350   axe (x4; +ap)                   ; AXE 1

0.75   > 0.375   axe (x2 druid; no ap)           ; DRUID

0.8    > 0.375   spear (x2 only cav; no ap)      ; SPEAR 3
0.75   > 0.375   spear (x14 only cav; no ap)     ; SPEAR 3 
0.7    > 0.350   spear (x43 cav+inf;  no ap)     ; SPEAR 2
0.6    > 0.300   spear (x11 only inf; no ap)     ; SPEAR 1



>>> The following changes are apply to all three 'Longer Battles' EDUs <<<


 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++ CHANGES TO INFANTRY SPEARMEN +++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

- Disabled the original spear-weapons via ";;".
- Replaced "spear" or "spear, long_pike" attributes with "light_spear" or 
  "long_pike, light_spear" respectively.
    
- Lowerd the spear_bonus_x values:

ORG                NEW   Spear-Attack   + new bonus   number of units
spear_bonus_4       4     att:4 to 6     8-10          x8
spear_bonus_6       4     att:6 to 8     10-12         x6
spear_bonus_8       4     att:7 to 9*    11-13*        x16 
spear_bonus_10      6     att:8 to 10    14-16         x7
spear_bonus_12      6     att:10 to 12   16-18         x2

* one unit with 10 or 14 respectively


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++ REDUCED CHARGE DISTANCE +++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ORG            NEW
3*    -new->    29
30    -new->    30
40    -new->    31
45    -new->    32
70    -new->    33
90    -new->    34
110   -new->    35
120   -new->    36

* Note: The original value is most likely a slip of the pen, as the two 
  units --Denzim (elite pike infantry) and Shovar (standard spear + 
  sword infantry) of the Rahala-- don't stick out in terms of 'charge 
  power' afaik.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++ EDU INFO-TERMS FOR RANGED WEAPONS +++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

  ; BOW (LIGHT)  - for bows without AP
  ; BOW (HEAVY)  - for bows with AP
  ; SLING    
  ; JAVELIN
  ; PILUM        - only 1 unit; no entry in EU.txt!; probably not used?!
  ; THROWN-AXE
  ; BOMB
  ; ARTILLERY

Info on spears from Aradan's EDU guide:

spear_bonus_x (BI only): 'x' may be any even number between 4 and 12 inclusive. Must be accompanied by spear or light_spear attributes, otherwise it has no effect. It offers a bonus to attack vs mounts which stacks with the default bonuses of these two attributes.
light_spear: Gives default bonus of +8 to defence vs cavalry, and penalty of -4 to defence vs. infantry. Offers less pushing power than spear.
spear: Gives default bonus of +8 to attack vs cavalry, and penalty of -4 to attack vs. infantry. Offers more pushing power than light_spear. Units with "spear" attribute tend to lose cohesion and break lines (due to the extreme pushing power) with undesired results, so use is advised only with cohesive formations/attributes like short_pike, shield_wall, phalanx etc.

.

A screenshot from the new index in the EDU (not completely show here though):




A screenshot showing the new EDU Info-Terms (the 33% version of 'Longer Battles'):

Installation:
- make a backup of the original file first!
- remove the brackets and their content from the modfiied export_descr_unit.txt
- place the export_descr_unit.txt in "Rome - Total War\BI\eod2\data"
- done!

[Halie Satanus]

Cool. I'll have to try the longer battles sometime when I have a spare week or so to give it a proper work through.

[Casual Tactician]

Cool. I'll have to try the longer battles sometime when I have a spare week or so to give it a proper work through.

With the 'EDU info-terms' for weapons I added to the EDU, it's very easy to adjust the lethality - and with notepad++'s 'replace all' feature it doesn't take long either. Atm the lethality is at 25% of the original value, which gives the units a slightly higher lethality than in EB. I quite like the pace of battles now, but that's very much a matter of taste. Perhaps a lethality somewhere between 33% to 50% would also do the job to have longer battles.

[Halie Satanus]

I like longer battles but don't often have the time to play them, especially in mods where there are a lot of battles (0 turn recruitment types)... We went for a middle ground which I think fits the setting.

[Casual Tactician]

I like longer battles but don't often have the time to play them, especially in mods where there are a lot of battles (0 turn recruitment types)... We went for a middle ground which I think fits the setting.

It's very much a matter of taste I guess, and in my case also conditioning due to mainly playing EB. But you got me thinking, and so...


To all players - new micro-mod version uploaded:

To give the player a better choice, I've uploaded a new version that now also includes EDU versions with 33% and 50% of the original lethality (the initial 25% version is also still included). So players can choose how much longer that battles shall be. I guess for most players going straight to 25% lethality is quite a sharp cutback and perhaps makes the battles too long.
Oh, and there's also a new Extra Unit Info version included, which includes the corrections from the 1.02 patch.