Fight like a man (FLAM) for DEI

[dmboss]

>>>>>> Version: 1.02 (Update: With permission of modders Philip and Rohirrim I added their mod called "Closer Deployment Zones")


This is a version of FLAM for the latest Divide et Impera (DEI). For those who don't know, FLAM is a battle and campaign gameplay overhaul, based on realism and military greatness of the ancient world. More here.




>>>>>> WTF is FLAM?!


This is FLAM: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile.../?id=318493828

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...u-300-000-men!

FLAM = Massive battles, 41 unit armies, massive recruitment, hardcore/realistic balance, longer and more tactical battles, much better AI in battles, much better AI in campaign, and more! Soldiers don't hesitate (take a look at the intensity of their attacks), they fight like animals, but won't die nowhere as easily as before!




>>>>>> Requirements:


- Installed Divide et Impera v0.96e.




>>>>>> Compatibility:


- Divide et Impera v0.96e.
- Any unit pack or graphical mod, that is allready compatible with DEI.
- Save game compatible.
- NO NEED to start a new campaign!


>>>>>> Download:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile.../?id=329476006

http://www.mediafire.com/download/kb...M_for_DEI.pack



>>>>>> Hey FLAM guys!
Finally I got to make an unique version of the Fight Like a Man for a very popular and succesful mod Divide et Impera. Along with that I made a lot of changes to gameplay itself, in other words, I listened to your questions and feedback and adjusted most of battle gameplay features. Also, this version newly contains updated version of the "41 banner" with better graphics and a "star bar".




>>>>>> All the description for the FLAM is located here:


Fight Like a Man 1.06 for Vanilla


41 units army banner






>>>>>> FAQ for DEI version of FLAM:


Q: Does this mod change unit values?


A: No. This time I managed to make all the changes in other tables, so it's okay to use any kind of unit pack or graphical pack!




Q: What difficulty should I play on?


A: Normal for battle, hard/very hard for campaign. Once you start your campign, it's recommended to go to menu and set battle difficulty to NORMAL.




>>>>>> Please give some of the attention to the modders Philip and Rohirrim for their allowance of using their very handy mod called "Closer Deployment Zones". Check them out as well. And thank you guys again!




>>>>>> I strongly RECOMMEND to use 41 UNIT STACKS!


REMEMBER, DO NOT CHANGE THE 10th/NAVY VALUE FROM 20!!!




>>>>>> 41 UNITS TUTORIAL:


I repeat, it's OPTIONAL. If you have a **** PC, then don't use 41 units! F.e.: My pc is five year old i7 980x and gtx480. I play on Ultra with SweetFX and custom AA with NP.




0. You need an allready created savegame.


1. Download this: http://sourceforge.net/projects/pack...7.zip/download


2. Run EditSF.exe.


3. Open your savegame. (Located here: C:\Users\<your_username>\AppData\Roaming\The Creative Assembly\Rome2\save_games)


4. Go to: Campaign_Save_Game > Compressed_Data > Campaign_Env > Campaign_Model


5. Change ONLY the 9th value from 20 to 41. The 10th value causes CTD so DON'T CHANGE THAT.


6. HIT ENTER and the number turns red.


7. Save the file, give it some time until it turns black again and close EditSF.exe.


8. Load the savegame and play!

[VladimirTW]

I don't have the pc to even test this so i can only speculate on what happens in game.
So if I understand, you can now have 80 stacks enter a battle instead of 40. That is insane, how long does it take to play out a battle like that? Especially with more defense this adds.

[dmboss]

I don't have the pc to even test this so i can only speculate on what happens in game.
So if I understand, you can now have 80 stacks enter a battle instead of 40. That is insane, how long does it take to play out a battle like that? Especially with more defense this adds.

Nope, just 41 v 41, but still, twice as much than before.

[HarkonRules]

Upload somewhere other than the Steam workshop please.

[Barune]

Just an FYI unit packs may be compatible with this submod but they are not compatible with DEI itself, Adding unit packs will unbalance unit stats even worse then they currently are (Patiently awaiting Kam's 1.0 Rebalance.)

[Samraat Mahendra Maurya]

I think Flem is a better name

[dmboss]

It's available on Mediafire now.

[Samraat Mahendra Maurya]

Good work!

[Aethyr]

Ive given it a shot, not bad, feels a bit fast paced as i usually run ancient warfare but it sure is nice to have the huge battles.

[alexu4326]

amyone can explain how much better AI in campaign is ?

[Deepstrike101]

amyone can explain how much better AI in campaign is ?

It would appear to be a ton better. As others have stated, it is now able to properly replenish the losses of its armies, which makes it far harder to steamroll the AI. Even against city states, it can be somewhat difficult. One user posted on Massalia. I was defeated in a battle against Massalia first time I used this mod, though I managed to recruit more troops and return to the fight, defeating them in 2 more turns.

Against Veneti, I really had some interesting problems. They marched one of their stacks against Massalia (which I had just conquered) while I used the fact that their armies were away to take their city. I thought the campaign would be done there... I was wrong. The army around Massalia lingered and I was forced to destroy it. More importantly, the Veneti returned a fleet from Greece which I did not know they had and immediately attacked one of my cities in Italy (I forget the name; the one below Veneti on the east coast). It was some time until I could retake it.

The more spectacular changes are in the battles themselves.

What are the casualty rates like in this?

It depends what the odds are, what faction you are, and how well you can maneuver. I've had battles where I've crushed 2,000 with 30 men lost. I've had battles where I killed 6,000 men and lost 5,000, and was defeated. It's all about morale. You can lose just 10% of your army and yet lose the battle if you really screw up.

The largest change is that almost no killing is done in melee until units route. There's the occasional guy who gets stabbed, but you can expect a unit of early (spearmen) hastati against huge numbers of ligurian heavy/medium spearmen to fight for 40 minutes with only half losses- if it holds the line and is not being flanked. In vanilla, the hastati would have been wiped out in about 3-4 minutes.

Instead, the battles now depend on morale. If outnumbered and flanked, units will break very quickly. This makes the battles feel authentic and I believe that a proper battle with FLAM represents a realistic ancient battle. In vanilla, even DEI vanilla, I never kept reserves. My hastati would just never flee, and they could hold for a while before taking grave losses, meaning that it was better to just make a long line to envelop the enemy. The pre-Marian formations therefore never made sense. It was better to spread your lines thin that to have reserves.

In FLAM, you really have to learn the meaning of reserves. If a line of hastati route, you must immediately plug the gap they leave. Otherwise, the enemy will start to break through your formation, curl around your other units, and they will roll through your army, causing it all to route. I learned this the hard way against Massila, and that still took 43 minutes. Units are now far more likely to regroup after fleeing, but make sure you have some "confident" units ready to assist a wavering line right away. I've started deploying my units in the pre-Marian style and it really is what you need to do in this mod. That way, when Hastati break and route, the principes are there to fill the gaps. If they route, then the triarii step in while you reform the hastati and principes who had routed.

Skirmishers and ranged units now have an actual use. In vanilla DEI I would just not recruit any. In FLAM, melee does little damage. Ranged, however, still inflicts damage very, very, quickly in comparison. This means that if you are able to take skirmishers into a position from which they can target the enemy (especially in their backs) skirmishers become real killers.

This is how ancient battles would have been fought. It was all about bringing in the right reserves at the right time against a weakness in the enemy line, or to protect your own. Now, lines can actually be broken and exploited and the game is no longer just about wheeling around the enemy flanks.

Thank you for the great mod! I love it!

PS: For the next version, I think you could reduce the stamina for the units. I've had units who have been constantly running or fighting for nearly an hour and are still fresh. I'd like it if units could actually get tired after 20 minutes of combat, but recover within 15-20. Ancient battles were also about bringing in fresh reserves to replace the exhausted ones, not just to replace units with low morale. In the real world, battle would not have been continuous. It was more often minutes of intense fighting between hours of bloodless maneuvers until one side gained the advantage. During the intense fighting, units would still get exhausted. While the bloodless maneuvering is not possible or even wanted in a TW game (imagine a battle which takes a day!), I think that fatigue should still be in the game. My hastati are currently Olympic athletes on steroids.

[dmboss]

Battle: Have you ever realized that the AI is allready exhausted by the time it's units meet yours? Not this time. Also, the battle is way slower, so the AI has more time to act. Campaign: The AI factions won't die as easily due to way more resources because of their armies cost way less. Also when the AI loses a major battle, it can still win the war by recruiting armies of fresh troops quickly. I LOST one campaign (playing as Rome) to Massilia !!! I invaded them with something around 32000 men and lost a major battle. I then couldn't defend Itally for too long and in like 15 turns I only had Cosentia.

Difficulty: Campaign: Very Hard, Battle: Normal.

[Blasphemer.]

Can you make a 20 unit army version? Or maybe 21

[LucasPiazon]

What are the casualty rates like in this?

[DavidtheDuke]

How does this affect reinforcement mechanics? Do they now have to come in piecemeal or can you even have a 80 unit per faction battle now? I just wish CA would implement tabs so I could switch between armies and take off the limiter completely (while leaving this officially unsupported I guess)

[Daveion]

Having an issue opening the save_game. I can see it clearly in the (The Creative Assembly\Rome2\save_games) folder but PFM cannot see it and therefore I can not alter it.
I have version 3.2.1 PFM.
I seem to think that the file is hidden, but this cannot be as I can see it in the save_game folder.

And suggestions?

[Daveion]

Forgive me, I have figured it out now.

[ozzyr]

Does this work with Faster battles/movement by KAM 2150?

Does the AI produce full stacks everytime if the have the time?

[moha338]

Hello,

Maybe I'm doing something wrong but the number of soldiers per unit is very low (around 84 soldiers for a normal unit). Is there a way to have units of 240 soldiers?

Thank you

[moha338]

Thank you very much for this awesome mod! I wont be able to return to the old way of playing with 20 slots per army.