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Thread: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

  1. #1

    Default builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    In making KGCM, Dave Scarface has put together the mod with which I have had the most fun in the now nearly 8 years, on and off, that I've spent playing this game. Thank you, CA, for the fantastic game... and thank you, Dave Scarface, if you still hang around here, for creating and sharing this great mod. It's too bad it took me this long to get around to trying your work. I can't match the expertise of those who make the truly grand mods, but in hopes of improving a bit on the great foundation of KGCM, I have made some of my own changes.

    My primary goal is to enrich the Grand Campaign, both by making eras more distinct by building and troop type, and by stretching these eras out a bit. The pace of the game is made much more deliberate and is especially well-suited to the 2-turn-per-year environment of KGCM. In addition, I have set out to correct or adjust a number of mistakes and issues - from updating in-game descriptions to adding nearly all units back into the game, from balance tweaks to radar and strategic map presentation, from minor diplomacy adjustments to animation fixes. Finally, I incorporate several "quality of life" adjustments, primarily in the interest of fun gameplay. To accomplish this and more, I have made the changes listed and spoilered below. I hope anyone who tries this submod enjoys KGCM that much more for it.


    MORE UNITS, BETTER TECH PROGRESSION. IT TAKES TIME TO FIELD THE BEST:




    PAVISE CROSSBOW UNITS USE SHIELDS IN MELEE (CREDIT AND THANKS TO Medusa0):




    AMERICAS AGAIN HIDDEN - UNTIL DISCOVERED:





    Eras last longer, gunpowder comes later, ranged units have more ammo, two-handed animations are fixed, flaming arrows are back, and more...

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    1.00 notes
    • Changed what can be recruited by many buildings to give more of a sense of progression to each building. This is a major change, many units are added back into the game and the tech flow is now much more delineated. No more armies of all the best units within 100 turns.
    • Increased build times for walls and castles. Generally this follows a 4,8,12,16,20 pattern. Goes along with above.
    • Increased build times for military buildings (barracks, archery ranges, stables, academies) in cities and castles. Generally this follows a 4,8,12,16,20 pattern. Goes along with above. Building armies with the best units will take quite a while.
    • Obsolete units are phased out when building new buildings. Docks only allow current ships to be built, for example.
    • Population growth from farms reduced, though they're still needed for growth (more needed than before, actually). Settlements will take a bit longer to reach max pop, giving more time for building. Build farms, lower taxes, and use chivalrous generals as governors to counter slow growth rates.
    • Reduced siege equipment recruitment pool to 1 each, as it seems to limit AI recruitment of these units and makes for better battles.
    • Tripled ammunition for all units that use it (archers, crossbows, javelin throwers, siege units, gunpowder units, etc...).
    • AI is generally more likely to trade maps with you, at least once. Subsequent trades may require added monetary incentives.
    • Spear units perform shield-wall instead of schiltrom. Updated unit descriptions to reflect this.
    • Bodyguard units are changed. When the game gives you a "free" bodyguard (coming of age, marriages, man of the hour, etc...), it uses the Late Bodyguard to do so. This is so that you don't have old bodyguard units running around late game, though it does give them out too early as well. I can't find a good way around this. To counterbalance this some, Late Bodyguards are only actually recruitable by the highest tier stables.
    • Bodyguard and Late Bodyguard armor upgrades are properly applied and visible in battle.
    • Forts disappear if abandoned so they don't clutter the campaign map.
    • Increased Dismounted Chivalric Knights and Lancer units attack values by 1 point to make them more appealing to recruit.
    • Made Swordsmith and Merchant guilds more likely to be offered.
    • Flaming arrows added back in.
    • Corrected some spelling.
    • Delayed gunpowder discovery until approximately 1290 (1340 as of 1.14). REQUIRES NEW GAMESTART.
    • Reduced chances of rebel armies and navies spawning (though they're still there). REQUIRES NEW GAMESTART.
    • Moved an amber resource near Uppsala out of the thick forest, so that Merchants can actually use it. REQUIRES NEW GAMESTART.
    • Changed Black Death so that it happens 900 years after campaign start (1180). Essentially removing it, though you will still have random plague events. Easy to put back if you really want it, just mod descr_events and change the 900, 902, 904, etc... to the number of years after campaign start (1180) that you want it to hit. REQUIRES NEW GAMESTART.
    • Removed flash floods. These permanently reduce movement speed in a province by 50% and permanently prevent building of forts and watchtowers, so they had to go. REQUIRES NEW GAMESTART.

    1.01 notes
    • Modified Turkey's city roster progression.
    • Made top tier buildings give xp bonuses again (1-2, depending) as original KGCM did. I had taken out xp for new units while doing initial editing of the edb.
    • Reduced recruitment pools to a max of 2 for units with max 3, including ships. Siege recruitment remains at 1 max.

    1.02 notes
    • Corrected some more spelling.
    • Adjusted spacing for all units that use shield_wall formation (spearmen). They will no longer "run in place" while idling in shield-wall formation.

    1.03 notes
    • Modified Turkey's castle roster progression.
    • Modified Ayyubid's (Egypt), Moors, and Wales city and castle roster progression.

    1.04 notes
    • Archer Militia for Russia and Novgorod now recruitable through entire city barracks line.

    1.05 notes
    • Modified Byzantium's city roster progression.

    1.06 notes
    • Increased Noble Knights armor by 1 point (from 6 to 7) to make them a small upgrade over Chivalric Knights. Armor increase represents the chain mail on the horse for Noble vs barding on the horse for Chivalric (all cavalry again retuned in 1.12).
    • Modified progression of siege units.
    • Slight modifications to Byzantium cavalry roster path.
    • Changed unit produced by city stone walls and hidden_resource constantinople to Kataphractoi. Varangian Guard moved from Mayor's Palace to Army Barracks and Royal Armoury.
    • Changed unit produced by city stone walls and hidden_resource frankfurt to Zweihander. Forlorn Hope moved from Mayor's Palace to Army Barracks and Royal Armoury.
    • Modified Ireland and Scotland progression.

    1.07 notes
    • Created and included an accurate 'data\ui\unit_info\france\chivalric_knights_info.tga' file. The vanilla one shows Noble Knights.
    • Corrected some more spelling.

    1.08 notes
    • Tabardariyya (2h heavy infantry for Egypt) moved into castle barracks building line.
    • Moved Naffatun from castle barracks building line into bowyer building line (top tier) for Egypt and Turks.
    • Modified Russia and Novgorod's city and castle roster progression.

    1.09 notes
    • Added French Mounted Archers and Mounted Longbowmen (name changed to Mounted Bowmen) for England back into the game. Changed descriptions of both units to reflect use of a smaller bow more suitable for use on horseback, while still using the armour-piercing bodkin arrow.
    • French Mounted Archers and Mounted Bowmen (England) available for custom battles in high/late period.
    • Gulay Gorod (crossbowmen) made available for custom battles in high/late period for Russia and Novgorod.
    • Removed Kurdish Auxiliaries (Turkey) from Army Barracks and Royal Armoury.
    • Increased recruit priority offset for Ottoman Infantry (Turkey, Army Barracks and Royal Armoury) from 10 to 15 for AI purposes. Janissary Heavy Infantry left at 20.
    • Removed earthquakes. Constantly being earthquaked in the regions with all my armies just pisses me off. REQUIRES NEW GAMESTART.

    1.10 notes
    • SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS IF UPDATING FROM A PREVIOUS VERSION:
    • BACK UP THE FOLLOWING TWO (2) FILES:
    • ...\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod\data\world\maps\base\map_fog.tga
    • ...\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod\data\world\maps\base\map_ground_types.tga
    • DELETE THE FOLLOWING ONE (1) FILE:
    • ...\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod\data\world\maps\base\map.rwm (It gets regenerated upon game reload, so don't worry).
    • Tripled ammo capacity of French Mounted Archers consistent with all other missile units, per notes in version 1.00 (I forgot to do this when copy/pasting them back into the game).
    • Forts are again allowed to be built on trade resources.
    • Corrected some more spelling.
    • Atlantic Ocean again requires ocean-going ships from top tier docks, buildable after gunpowder event, to cross. You will probably not want to play as the Aztecs. REQUIRES NEW GAMESTART.
    • The New World is again hidden on the mini-map. To discover the New World, build ocean-going ships and cross the Atlantic as in vanilla. REQUIRES NEW GAMESTART.

    1.11 notes
    • Late Crossbowmen removed from Marksman's Range for Spain and Portugal.
    • Pavise Crossbowmen added to Marksman's Range for Spain and Portugal.
    • Reduced all ship recruitment pools to 1 max. 1 ship is recruitable per 5 turns.
    • Corrected some more spelling.

    1.12 notes
    • Increased cavalry armor values across the board. Armor was restored to vanilla values (or very close) in nearly all cases. Other defense statistics (mostly) left at KGCM values.
    • Cavalry melee attack increased to vanilla values (or very close) in nearly all cases.

    1.13 notes
    • Campaign now ends in 1580. REQUIRES NEW GAMESTART.
    • Egypt and the Turks no longer begin the grand campaign as allies. REQUIRES NEW GAMESTART.
    • Islamic faction standings with each other slightly lowered to begin campaign. REQUIRES NEW GAMESTART.

    1.14 notes
    • Increased recruitment pools for Military Academies from 1 to 2.
    • Updated/corrected various unit and building descriptions.
    • Copied over and included Carrack unit card and unit_info .tga files for Teutonic Order. Game was using the default "peasant with dagger" pictures for both.
    • Dismounted Conquistadores and New World Cuirassers are recruited with 1 experience, consistent with all other units recruited from the Royal Officer's Academy.
    • Further delayed discovery of gunpowder until approximately 1340. REQUIRES NEW GAMESTART.

    1.15 notes
    • With credit given, permission gained, and major thanks to Medusa0, all pavise crossbow units now use their shields when in melee(!). KGCM backups for each mesh are included as part of the download, so you don't have to back them up yourself. Just unzip the archive to '\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod' as normal. Backup meshes have the file extension '.kgcm'.

    1.16 notes
    • Lithuania's various pagan altars are again able to recruit military units. For the city versions of the altars, these units are of increasing variety as the altars are upgraded to sanctuaries and temples.
    • Corrected some more spelling.

    1.17 notes
    • SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS IF UPDATING FROM A PREVIOUS VERSION:
    • BACK UP THE FOLLOWING ONE (1) FILE:
    • ...\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod\data\descr_names.txt
    • Updated/corrected various unit descriptions.
    • Changed name entry in ...data\descr_names.txt from "von Numerberg" to "von Nuremberg."
    • Two-handed unit animations (except those who can use "Spear wall" formation) replaced with JHI animation.
    • Dismounted Noble Knights made available for custom battles in high/late period for France.
    • Zweihander made available for custom battles in late period for Milan.

    1.18 notes
    • SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS IF UPDATING FROM A PREVIOUS VERSION:
    • BACK UP THE FOLLOWING ONE (1) FILE:
    • ...\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod\data\text\names.txt
    • Changed name entry in ...\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod\data\text\names.txt from "von Numerberg" to "von Nuremberg."
    • Updated/corrected various unit descriptions.

    1.19 notes
    • Updated/corrected various unit descriptions.
    • Norse Archers for Denmark and Norway now recruitable through entire castle bowyer line starting at Practice Range.


    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Americas Hidden.jpg   Pavise Melee Shields.jpg   Cav progression.jpg  
    Last edited by builder680; July 10, 2014 at 09:07 PM.

  2. #2

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    This is a list of files I have modified. To back up these files, you can simply add .kgcm (or .bak, or .old, etc...) to their filenames. For example, rename descr_strat.txt to descr_strat.txt.kgcm. I would leave the original file extension intact, as seen in the previous example, so you can just delete the ".kgcm" in case you wish to revert to that file. Alternatively, you can move the listed files to a backup folder of your creation/choosing, but I'd suggest preserving the folder structure if you do so.

    ...\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod\data
    • descr_campaign_db.xml
    • descr_diplomacy.xml
    • descr_names.txt
    • descr_projectile.txt
    • descr_settlement_mechanics.xml
    • export_descr_buildings.txt
    • export_descr_guilds.txt
    • export_descr_unit.txt

    ...\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod\data\text
    • export_buildings.txt
    • export_units.txt
    • names.txt

    ...\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod\data\world\maps\base
    • descr_disasters.txt
    • descr_regions.txt
    • map_fog.tga
    • map_ground_types.tga

    ...\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod\data\world\maps\campaign\imperial_campaign
    • descr_events.txt
    • descr_mercenaries.txt
    • descr_strat.txt


    INSTALLATION:
    1. BACK UP ALL FILES IN THE ABOVE SPOILER BEFORE INSTALLING!
    2. DO NOT SKIP STEP 1 IF YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO REVERT TO YOUR OLD INSTALLATION. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
    3. Delete file ...\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod\data\world\maps\base\map.rwm (It gets regenerated upon game reload, so don't worry).
    4. Extract the downloadable archive linked in the post below to ...\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod


    IMPORTANT NOTES:
    1. All changes are KGCM savegame compatible, unless followed by the notation "REQUIRES NEW GAMESTART."
    2. If you want farms to be visible on the campaign map, rename ...\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod\data\descr_aerial_map_ground_types.txt to ...\kingdoms_grand_campaign_mod\data\descr_aerial_map_ground_types.txt.kgcm (thanks irishron!). This is savegame compatible.
    3. Please let me know if you encounter any issues with installation. Enjoy.


    OTHER COOL STUFF TO ENHANCE YOUR M2TW EXPERIENCE:
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Make Alt-Tab work without a loading screen:
    • In your Medieval II Total War folder, right click medieval2.preference.cfg and go to Properties. Uncheckmark 'Read-only.'
    • Open medieval2.preference.cfg with Notepad
    • Enter the following lines under [video]:
    • windowed=true
    • borderless_window=true
    • Save medieval2.preference.cfg
    • Close Notepad
    • Right click your medieval2.preference.cfg and go to Properties. Re-checkmark 'Read-only.' Do not skip this step.
    • Done. Alt-Tabbing is now instant.


    Get highest unit detail in battle:
    • There is a bug that doesn't render units in the "Highest" setting even if you have that option checked and it shows as Highest in your options menu. Instructions to get around this:
    • In your Medieval II Total War folder, right click medieval2.preference.cfg and go to Properties. Uncheckmark 'Read-only.'
    • Open medieval2.preference.cfg with Notepad.
    • Change the following line under [video]:
    • unit_detail = higher to unit_detail = highest
    • Save medieval2.preference.cfg
    • Close Notepad.
    • Right click your medieval2.preference.cfg and go to Properties. Re-checkmark 'Read-only.' Do not skip this step.
    • Done. The graphics boost is very noticeable, but requires some moderately decent hardware for larger battles.
    • Optionally, you can also do this step. I notice the game doesn't change unit meshes in battle at all now, nor are there any sprites. Obligatory warning; just be very careful, and back up your files before you mess with them.


    Highly recommended submod by Magus for better blood, dust, snow, optional dirt, and overall nastiness in battle:
    • Crimson Tide
    • It's especially nice looking after the unit detail fix. Battles look more brutal. While using the "no dirt" version, I turned shadows back on and it's hard to believe this game is as old as it is. The submod is adjustable to preference by choosing which files you do and don't replace, just read the post linked above.

    Last edited by builder680; June 28, 2014 at 04:01 PM.

  3. #3

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    Last edited by builder680; July 10, 2014 at 11:58 PM.

  4. #4
    lodewijk's Avatar Civis
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    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    wow! this is so interesting! i hope that someone made it, as i likely to back go to play KGCM which have vanilla atmosphere.

    btw what it is meant?
    "Older units are phased out when building new buildings" are the older unit like sergeant, and other militia is not recruitable anymore if i build the more advance building?

  5. #5

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    Hello lodewijk, I'm glad you are interested!

    "Older units are phased out when building new buildings" means that units with a direct upgrade from the new building are no longer recruitable. I believe Dave Scarface did something similar in his original version, but it's been several weeks of modding edb's for me at this point so I honestly can't remember how he had it set up (I didn't keep a backup of his edb, unfortunately).

    An example is the Saracen Militia. This unit is a direct upgrade and replacement for the Middle Eastern Spear Militia unit. Therefore when you construct the building that allows Saracen Militia, Spear Militia can no longer be recruited in that settlement. Another example is Mailed Knights. Once you can recruit Feudal Knights in a settlement, Mailed Knights disappear from the recruitment options (for that settlement).

    I do not phase out units that may seem similar but have different gameplay functionality. So, for example, Archer Militia is not phased out once you can recruit crossbows, or gunpowder units... since archers, crossbows, and gunpowder units can all be used differently. Therefore, these units stay recruitable all through the game.

    Siege equipment is handled a bit differently than the original mod. Ballistas (strong vs units) can be built all the way up until replaced by Mangonels (also strong vs units), instead of disappearing once you can build catapults/trebuchets (which are strong vs buildings). Essentially, I categorized each siege unit as anti-personnel, anti-building, or hybrid. Basilisks are good at everything (hybrid), therefore they are never removed, even when Serpentines (anti-personnel) become available.

    I hope this makes it more clear than I made it in my OP.

    Please let me know if you have any other questions, and if you try the submod I'd be glad to hear what you think.
    Last edited by builder680; May 11, 2014 at 04:26 PM.

  6. #6
    lodewijk's Avatar Civis
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    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    Quote Originally Posted by builder680 View Post
    Hello lodewijk, I'm glad you are interested!

    "Older units are phased out when building new buildings" means that units with a direct upgrade from the new building are no longer recruitable. I believe Dave Scarface did something similar in his original version, but it's been several weeks of modding edb's for me at this point so I honestly can't remember how he had it set up (I didn't keep a backup of his edb, unfortunately).

    An example is the Saracen Militia. This unit is a direct upgrade and replacement for the Middle Eastern Spear Militia unit. Therefore when you construct the building that allows Saracen Militia, Spear Militia can no longer be recruited in that settlement. Another example is Mailed Knights. Once you can recruit Feudal Knights in a settlement, Mailed Knights disappear from the recruitment options (for that settlement).

    I do not phase out units that may seem similar but have different gameplay functionality. So, for example, Archer Militia is not phased out once you can recruit crossbows, or gunpowder units... since archers, crossbows, and gunpowder units can all be used differently. Therefore, these units stay recruitable all through the game.

    Siege equipment is handled a bit differently than the original mod. Ballistas (strong vs units) can be built all the way up until replaced by Mangonels (also strong vs units), instead of disappearing once you can build catapults/trebuchets (which are strong vs buildings). Essentially, I categorized each siege unit as anti-personnel, anti-building, or hybrid. Basilisks are good at everything (hybrid), therefore they are never removed, even when Serpentines (anti-personnel) become available.

    I hope this makes it more clear than I made it in my OP.

    Please let me know if you have any other questions, and if you try the submod I'd be glad to hear what you think.
    alright its more than clear. good job is done here. +rep

    btw how about byz? if you forget about their upgrade no prob, let me see by myself cause i'll try it tonight

  7. #7

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    I did just change a couple things for the Byzantines, you might want to grab 1.05 (savegame compatible to 1.00). It's going up for download now.
    Last edited by builder680; May 13, 2014 at 01:29 AM.

  8. #8

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    If you downloaded 1.08 (I see 1 download at the moment), I included the wrong edb in the download. 1.08a will be up shortly (a minor change to the Turkish barracks line). My apologies.

    EDIT:

    Ok, 1.08a is up: savegames will be fine.
    Last edited by builder680; May 15, 2014 at 09:00 AM.

  9. #9
    lodewijk's Avatar Civis
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    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    Quote Originally Posted by builder680 View Post
    If you downloaded 1.08 (I see 1 download at the moment), I included the wrong edb in the download. 1.08a will be up shortly (a minor change to the Turkish barracks line). My apologies.

    EDIT:

    Ok, 1.08a is up: savegames will be fine.
    hey mate sorry i have no time enough for online.
    yes all of change is great, i like it !

  10. #10

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    So, I've decided to take a look at this. Looking good at first glance, but there's a few things...

    The ammo change unbalances the ranged units heavily toward longbowmen and elite archers (like Dismounted Dvor). Their high rate of killing compared to crossbows and gunpowder units was balanced out by high ammo consumption. While crossbows or musketeers could pour it on during whole battle, archers fired most of their ammo in first half of battle. Now that they can keep firing during whole battle, and no other ranged unit can get even close to their performance. I'd suggest boosting attack of crossbows/gunpowder units a bit, and boost range of late crossbow units-especially late crossbowmen should have longer range than any bow. This would, however, shift balance too much toward ranged units I think, so you might consider upping units' shield values a bit.

    The shield wall feature is interesting, and I agree with it on some units. Professional and semi-professional units like sergeant spearmen, armoured sergeants, mercenary spearmen etc... should have shield wall, but militia units probably wouldn't have enough discipline and training to maintain a shield wall. Schiltrom suits them better, and it's more useful in city defense, fitting their role.

    Also...I think it's wrong to "push" players to all-elite armies this way. Especially the "sub-elite" units are core of cost-effective armies. And some upgrades, like yeomen archers->retinue longbowmen are kinda pointless. I think every level should keep the untis from previous level, maybe just half of the pool (so for example, marksman range should allow english to recruit retinue longbowmen at standard rate, yeomen archers at half rate, but no basic longbowmen).

  11. #11

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    Hey Sar1n,

    Thanks for the feedback, it's always good to hear what others think! I must say that several of the points you make also occurred to me as I was making changes for my own games. If you're interested I'll say here why I did some of the things I did... But I'll also quickly point out that most of these things are easy to change/revert to your liking if you find you would rather the game behaved differently.

    Regarding ammo for ranged units: I've never liked units being balanced by how much ammo they have, at least in singleplayer (I don't do MP, so it's not a concern of mine). In my mind, if you want ranged units to stop shooting at you, you should have to engage them in melee, not pull a Zapp Brannigan and wait for them to reach their kill limit (run out of ammo). If there was a way, I'd give unlimited ammo... but there isn't, so I settled for just tripling it. Obviously not everyone agrees and that's understandable. This is a simple change in export_descr_unit.txt (EDU). As far as re-balancing the other stats for ranged units, that's not something I think is necessary. Again, whichever side is losing the pre-battle ranged 'skirmish' should be motivated to close to melee as soon as possible, not wait for the enemy to run out of ammo. But again, the opportunity is there to either use KGCM's original EDU or mod it as you see fit.

    Shield wall vs schiltrom: This is another easy change in the EDU. Personally I rarely used schiltrom and just prefer the option of shield wall. I haven't played around or tested it, but I think it might be possible to have both? I'm honestly unsure. I'll look into it one of these days. In any event, you can change "shield_wall" to "schiltrom" as desired in the EDU.

    Regarding "elite" units and armies: Unit availability is determined by export_descr_buildings.txt (EDB). One reason I tell people they should back up their files is so they can revert to the old versions if they desire. The reason I went this route with my EDB is very similar to the reason that original KGCM also does. We don't really need five versions of spearmen for each faction available at any time. Progression in this manner forces the AI to build current and powerful armies with the best units. The AI gets a generous infusion of florins per turn via the money script in KGCM, primarily because it has no idea how to manage its finances... so I don't worry about cost-effective armies for the AI. It certainly doesn't suffer at all for lack of troops. As for the human, money isn't (or shouldn't be) an issue past the very beginning of the game. During this time you're not building entire armies with top end units anyway. They're not available until you've built substantial infrastructure, at which point you're probably making tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of florins per turn. So again, I'm not worried about armies being "cost-effective." More important to me is to face an AI fielding its best possible troops, even if that comes at the cost of some historical accuracy. Understandably, again, I know that not everyone is looking for that. For those who aren't, it's easy (although time-consuming) to mod to their liking or just use KGCM's EDB file.

    If there are parts of this submod you'd like to use but others you'd prefer not to, I'd be glad to help you pick which files to replace and which ones to leave alone. Again, thanks for the feedback, and happy conquering!

  12. #12

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    As for editing the EDU and EDB, I know how to do most things, it's just...tedious. Those points are more or less just balancing suggestions. I already did a little preliminary balancing of ranged units by boosting crossbow and gunpowder units' attack a bit and range of elite crossbow units, and added schiltrom instead of shield wall to some units. I'm quite surprised that you don't consider schiltrom useful, it's great when you have crossbows in army or ribaults.

  13. #13

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    Regarding schiltrom, I didn't say I think it's not useful, I said I rarely used it and just preferred the option of spear wall. I guess I'd say it's situationally useful. In the best scenario, it would be nice to just have both, but since I have to make a choice I'd rather shield wall be an option.

    I'm curious about times you use schiltrom though, maybe I could employ it more often with some suggestions from other players. I've seen many people say it's useful in sieges, and that's about the only time I really used it. Even then I didn't find it all that impressive, fights at gates or on streets all kinda get stagnant eventually no matter the formation used. Are there specific situations in the field that you like to use schiltrom?

    Edit: Like you said with crossbows and ribaults for example, where do you deploy your schiltroms in such an army? And what are some other good times to use it?
    Last edited by builder680; July 13, 2014 at 07:17 AM.

  14. #14

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    Great sub mod you have here! I'm liking how nit picky it is haha. I was looking through this forum and I saw you comment here. I was wondering if you included that campaign ai or if it's even compatible with your mod. You've played around with it. Do you think it's worth the download?

  15. #15

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    And here's something pretty awesome that I tweak in every mod I play. I edited this file to allow arrows to permanently stick on the ground/buildings while fire arrows stay for approximately 1 minute and 20 seconds. It shouldn't really bog down your computer unless you fire ten thousand arrows or you're running a dinosaur. This requires Crimson Tide 4.2 as that was the file I originally began with. Enjoy!
    Attached Files Attached Files

  16. #16

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    Hey teenspeedy1,

    Thanks for the kind words, although it's strange to take 'nitpicky' as a compliment... I'm glad you like it, anyway.

    Regarding the SS AI, I haven't included that file with my submod (it's not mine to include, it's SS's work), but it is compatible. You can switch them out as desired to see if you like the KGCM one or the SS one (the one linked by Leper King in that thread).

    Regarding arrow impact mod/Crimson Tide, I play with that and in fact it's linked it in my second post inside a spoiler. It's a sweet mod, though I didn't really care for the arrows staying so long. I don't use that part.

  17. #17

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    I played Wales for about 50 turns. The recruitment setup, similarly in original KGCM, really isn't my style.

    FOR WALES (What I don't get)
    - Skirmishers come after Longbows? Shouldn't it be reverse?
    - 2 handed axemen recruited from cities. (I assume this is a way to give Wales a "professional militia" like other factions.
    - Mathrafal Horseman cut out in higher tier stables. To me, they are a great medium cavalry, distinct from mailed knights and other heavy cavalry knights.


    OTHER
    - I think knights and dismounted knights should be recruited from Castle level, and not stables or barracks.
    - Why should only military structures take so much longer to build?
    - Non-permanent stone fortresses don't make sense to me. I'd rather they just be wooden.
    - Archers with tons of arrows feels exploitative, ...especially if you use them exploitavely.

    All-in-all, I do appreciate your ingenuity. I never liked KGCM's recruitment style, and I could barely stand to play it after a while for that reason. I also hate guilds, but I can take care of that easily enough. If I am to play, I suppose I'll have to mod the edu and edb myself. I just don't have the time on my hands.

    I hope you'll take this just as another persons point of view. Different tastes.

  18. #18

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    I remember that Wales was very difficult to do because they have so few units in the lineup compared to other factions. Spreading out few units over many buildings can be tricky. I'll take a look at them again, I'm just not sure when.

  19. #19

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    I think my list was too long.

    - I think if Mathrafal Horseman could be recruited until Teulu Skirmishers, that'd make for a better roster.


    - If skirmishers come after longbowmen (idk how it was in vanilla)s, I don't think anybody's ever going to recruit them. If it was reverse, I would recruit them out of necessity for ranged support.

    - Stone forts disappearing after a turn. All that stone can't fall into decay in just 6 months can it? If it could be extended to say 3 turns, or changed to wooden forts, it'd make more sense, imo.

    The rest, like knights from castle upgrades... eh; not a huge deal. Anyway, as a fellow modder, I wouldn't appreciate long complaints, so sorry if I came off strong. Though, if you would consider reworking some of the recruitment to involve more subclasses (ie medium cavalry, etc.), and, if you wish, reworking tech progression ( ie skirmishers to archer), that'd be appreciated on my end. But you may have your own reasons as to why you want it that way, and I haven't taken a look at all factions yet.

    I'm not sure how much more time you want to put into this mod, but if you should like, I'm pretty knowledged on the edu, and can give you my own impressions which may help you save time if you plan to keep working on the mod.

  20. #20

    Default Re: builder's KGCM submod MORE UNITS, SLOWER BUILDING

    The forts I did because they clutter the campaign map otherwise. I know it isn't realistic but I found it annoying. There's a boolean setting in an xml file you can set to false to change it, I can't remember exactly where atm.

    As a rule I phase out light cav because the ai is bad at using them. I force them to recruit heavy cav in this way, and it does better. Additionally, missile cav usually doubles just fine as light cav - and most factions have some type of missile cav. Again though, that is a pretty easy change to adjust to suit.

    If I could have, I'd have made ammo unlimited, but I couldn't so I just tripled it. If a player is the type to exploit the AI, there's not much I can do about that. I just hate running out of ammo... Armies should engage each other instead of waiting for one side to run out of arrows.

    I have put months in this submod, problem is I'm not really playing at the moment so changing it is kinda back-burnered. Feel free to change anything you like, I've documented every change I made in the spoiler in the OP.
    Last edited by builder680; August 05, 2014 at 05:54 AM.

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