Europa Barbarorum 2.08e is released!

[The Ferret]

FWIW, my M2TW is installed in C:/Program Files (x86)/ and does not encounter any "inexplicable errors".

I suspect that "inexplicable errors" may be a result of Windows UAC security weirdness:

* User installs 2.03 with the installer, clicks "yes" to dialog boxes, gives appropriate access, everything is gravy
* User uses a tool to unzip archives onto their M2TW folder - 7zip, WinRAR, WinZip, whatever.
* For whatever weird reason, the tool unzips some files but is silently denied permission to unzip other files. (Did any of the 2.03x series of updates include brand new files not in 2.03? It could be that 7zip or the other tool is permitted to create files but not to overwrite existing ones, putting the EB2 version into an undefined state.) I've had a similar issue with 7zip and Windows permissions before.

The solution for those users:

* Uninstall EB2 and wipe the M2TW/mods/EB2 directory.
* Reinstall EB2 2.03, ensuring you click "yes" to all dialogs.
* Extract the latest update (2.03h as of right now) with the native Windows interface, not an external tool like 7zip. Ensure you click "yes" to all dialogs. (If you have the EBII v2.03h archive in your M2TW/mods/EBII folder, right click it, click "Extract All...", select and delete "EBII v2.03h" from the text field in that dialog, click "Extract". Alternatively, extract to /EBII v2.03h, select everything in that folder, copy, then paste to /EBII.)

[QuintusSertorius]

Out of interest, what are the army compositions the AI is building like in 2.03h? Are they recruiting a lot of light units, because they're cheap and widely-available?

I haven't applied my tests with recruit_priority_offset yet, but I think they're the other half of the equation to the recruit_pool restrictions that prevent them being able to spam good quality units.

[Mantaprey]

Is there a 'perfect_spy' cheat? < that one does not work

I could tell you everything if i could see inside every army when i turn off FOW.

[QuintusSertorius]

Is there a 'perfect_spy' cheat? < that one does not work

I could tell you everything if i could see inside every army when i turn off FOW.

The generic script has that built in. Press F1 to bring up the help menu. Click on the ? in the top right corner. When the advisor appears, click on it's face, click "show me how" and click close. Perfect Spy will now be activated. You do the same again to turn it off (because I think it makes the game unstable).

[Merovingi]

Tried to play as Pahlava for the first time in EB2. I conquered three cities from the Seleucids, but I got game over because their assassin killed all my four generals within 5-6 turns.

He had zero skill levels. WTF?

[QuintusSertorius]

A couple of changes that will be coming in 2.03i - Roman promagistracy offices will extend for five years after the magistracy term, rather than 3. And Senators as well as Equestrians will be able to be Legates.

Furthermore, cavalry missile kill rates are going up to match infantry (ie from 0.35 to 0.4). They'll still have less impact because they are smaller units, but that should make them more effective than they currently are.

Tried to play as Pahlava for the first time in EB2. I conquered three cities from the Seleucids, but I got game over because their assassin killed all my four generals within 5-6 turns.

He had zero skill levels. WTF?

Where were your FMs at the time - in your territory, or theirs? How do you know they had 0 skill levels? It often won't tell you, unless you target them with an assassin of your own. Either way, one of the ways to protect against this is to have spies and assassins of your own embedded with your generals.

I failed to implement the maximum assassination chance in 2.03h, that is implemented in 2.03i, when released.

[Samson224]

Furthermore, cavalry missile kill rates are going up to match infantry (ie from 0.35 to 0.4). They'll still have less impact because they are smaller units, but that should make them more effective than they currently are.

This is very good news! I actually did a small test with the <missile-target-accuracy> values last night, cos I felt the missile units were bit too uneffective against light cavalry.

I might as well present my results, in case there's someone interested.
The target unit was Numidian cavalry (101 units) and all that was changed was the cavalry value under <missile-target-accuracy> in the battle_config file (0.35 is the set value in 2.03h).
The values in "table" are averages how many of the Numidians were alive after all the missiles were used.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Unit/Value ----- 0.35 -------0.5 -------1.0

Kretan Archers --64 ------- 47 --------few*
Balearic Sling. ---45 --------34 --------XX
Leves -----------50 --------37 --------XX

* With value 1.0, there was only 10-6 units left and they routed (archers still had missiles). I didn't continue test with other units, as this value was clearly too high.

The raises in the casualty rates are surprisingly consistent. I was pretty satisfied with the value 0.5, but set it to 0.45, because I feared 0.5 might affect the battles too much. I'm now running a campaign (Romani again...) with 0.45 and battles have been quite balanced so far.

[QuintusSertorius]

This is very good news! I actually did a small test with the <missile-target-accuracy> values last night, cos I felt the missile units were bit too uneffective against light cavalry.

I might as well present my results, in case there's someone interested.
The target unit was Numidian cavalry (101 units) and all that was changed was the cavalry value under <missile-target-accuracy> in the battle_config file (0.35 is the set value in 2.03h).
The values in "table" are averages how many of the Numidians were alive after all the missiles were used.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Unit/Value ----- 0.35 -------0.5 -------1.0

Kretan Archers --64 ------- 47 --------few*
Balearic Sling. ---45 --------34 --------XX
Leves -----------50 --------37 --------XX

* With value 1.0, there was only 10-6 units left and they routed (archers still had missiles). I didn't continue test with other units, as this value was clearly too high.

The raises in the casualty rates are surprisingly consistent. I was pretty satisfied with the value 0.5, but set it to 0.45, because I feared 0.5 might affect the battles too much. I'm now running a campaign (Romani again...) with 0.45 and battles have been quite balanced so far.

I think the value was 0.45 before the most recent set of changes. Given the raises in shield values, I am wondering about setting all three missile values to that. When I had a javelin duel in a testing battle, even 0.4 didn't really produce that many casualties.

[Samson224]

I think the value was 0.45 before the most recent set of changes. Given the raises in shield values, I am wondering about setting all three missile values to that. When I had a javelin duel in a testing battle, even 0.4 didn't really produce that many casualties.

I also pitted Leves against Hoplites few times with the default infantry value 0.4, and the Leves could kill 60-67 (of 160) by skirmishing and doing only frontal javelin assaults. I think that casualty rate is just fine considering the units.

[olliehax]

Turn 150-193 Getai H/H

1. Factions which have become horde are indecisive. The Massylian horde was camped outside a rebel settlement which only had three units, they had not attacked it in around 30 turns of being there, they were also the richest faction with around 320000 based on the faction rankings scroll, in fact the three horde factions are the three richest. The Lugians were doing a similar thing and aimlessly moving around gaul despite an undefended rebel settlement nearby. Hamalkot Hanabati were camped outside the ptolemai captial with four stacks vs five stacks. Neither seem to be doing anything about it.

2. The Pritanoi are the fourth richest faction and are maintaining 11 stacks of around 75% and up strength. This is crazy! I was looking forward to see what they would have done in gaul they were more powerful that two gallic tribes added together.

3. Didn't have the money to move against any of the AI factions due to high number of stacks, focussed on rebels more than anything else. I can maintain around 1.5 stacks in the black before upkeep kicks in whereas the AI has around 4 with 2-4 settlements.

4. Ai overall now seems to be positioning its armies at borders or matching other factions creating a kind of standoff.

5. Got destroyed my Makedonia, Epiros and Sweboz at turn 193, not all the same time mind you, basically outnumbered, on the plus side their armies were well balanced with the exception of the Epiros, which were predominantly missile troops

[delra]

KH reform worked just fine for me in 2.03h. It's a fun campaign without colonization, trying to salvage the Greeks around the world before they get "turned". I like the Teutonic family tree too, somehow feels more natural to me for this era.

Here's a quick question though, was Agoge turned off for KH intentionally, or it's a new bug?

[Mantaprey]

2.03h H/M

Turn 25

These are the main armies for some factions that i chose. When i get to around turn 100 ill do a more proper search.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Sweboz


Saba


Roma




Nabateans






Makedonia




KH


Hayasdan

EDIT:
aaahh! too many stars! I'll have to think of something else to categorize them


Also, I stumbled upon this exact problem.

I'm not sure how can you use a screenshot to find out what's wrong, but here's an example of a failed charge of my Gund-I-Nizagan towards the enemy horsemen. They just stopped midway and did nothing until I issued several orders for them to attack again, after which they reluctantly started to WALK towards the enemy.

I found that when you single-click charge with infantry the above happens and when you double-click charge it works normally. So single-click charge does not work for infantry, the animation it looks like. You can use double-click fine, just give them enough distance.

[QuintusSertorius]

Turn 150-193 Getai H/H

1. Factions which have become horde are indecisive. The Massylian horde was camped outside a rebel settlement which only had three units, they had not attacked it in around 30 turns of being there, they were also the richest faction with around 320000 based on the faction rankings scroll, in fact the three horde factions are the three richest. The Lugians were doing a similar thing and aimlessly moving around gaul despite an undefended rebel settlement nearby. Hamalkot Hanabati were camped outside the ptolemai captial with four stacks vs five stacks. Neither seem to be doing anything about it.

2. The Pritanoi are the fourth richest faction and are maintaining 11 stacks of around 75% and up strength. This is crazy! I was looking forward to see what they would have done in gaul they were more powerful that two gallic tribes added together.

3. Didn't have the money to move against any of the AI factions due to high number of stacks, focussed on rebels more than anything else. I can maintain around 1.5 stacks in the black before upkeep kicks in whereas the AI has around 4 with 2-4 settlements.

4. Ai overall now seems to be positioning its armies at borders or matching other factions creating a kind of standoff.

5. Got destroyed my Makedonia, Epiros and Sweboz at turn 193, not all the same time mind you, basically outnumbered, on the plus side their armies were well balanced with the exception of the Epiros, which were predominantly missile troops

1. One for z3n to have a look at, I think.
2. Britain is the one place I haven't really done much of anything to; I wonder if they need some more rebel armies there to liven things up?
3. Yep, the AI will always be able to outspend you, due to the money script. 4 armies with 2-4 settlements is still an improvement on 4 armies with 1 settlement.
4. Another one for z3n to look into, invasion prioirities and such.
5. Funny that Epeiros seem to be recruiting predominantly-missile armies, where others aren't. Must be the interaction of it's faction "personality" with the recruitment choices available.

KH reform worked just fine for me in 2.03h. It's a fun campaign without colonization, trying to salvage the Greeks around the world before they get "turned". I like the Teutonic family tree too, somehow feels more natural to me for this era.

Here's a quick question though, was Agoge turned off for KH intentionally, or it's a new bug?

Turned off because the Agoge is bugged. It caused a movement penalty that meant any FM who went through it couldn't move afterwards.

2.03h H/M

Turn 25

These are the main armies for some factions that i chose. When i get to around turn 100 ill do a more proper search.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Sweboz


Saba


Roma




Nabateans






Makedonia




KH


Hayasdan

EDIT:
aaahh! too many stars! I'll have to think of something else to categorize them

They look pretty reasonable for the most part. Not too skirmisher/missile heavy at all.

Is Epeiros still alive in your game? What do their armies look like?

Also, I stumbled upon this exact problem.



I found that when you single-click charge with infantry the above happens and when you double-click charge it works normally. So single-click charge does not work for infantry, the animation it looks like. You can use double-click fine, just give them enough distance.

Great find! So single-click to get cavalry to charge correctly, and double-click to get infantry to charge properly?

[olliehax]

1. One for z3n to have a look at, I think.
2. Britain is the one place I haven't really done much of anything to; I wonder if they need some more rebel armies there to liven things up?
3. Yep, the AI will always be able to outspend you, due to the money script. 4 armies with 2-4 settlements is still an improvement on 4 armies with 1 settlement.
4. Another one for z3n to look into, invasion prioirities and such.
5. Funny that Epeiros seem to be recruiting predominantly-missile armies, where others aren't. Must be the interaction of it's faction "personality" with the recruitment choices available.

I'll give Pritanoi a whirl at some point to have a look, the island is very defensible so they have time to build up and move into gaul due to fleet costs. The game is challenging still as a human player which is fine it's just that when the ai attacks its extremely hard to counter them when you have half the numbers. Epeiros was the only one that stood out as overly missile based, macedon was reasonably balanced as was KH.

[melvidh]

Hello:

I am playing a makedon campaign v2.03g H/M. These are some things i have seen:

- Makedon campaign starting text need to be redone. It still mention Chalkis city ( and i think that one isnt in the map anymore). There are differences between the "victory conditions" in the select faction screen, faction screen info ( once you start the campaign), and the VC "trait" that has the faction leader.

- I saw an animation of a diplomatic talking with a besieged city. I was besieging Sparta and a diplomat showed the animation as if he was talking with greeks.

- Can spies attain "spy guild master" while inside enemy cities? or was that a bug? one of my spies inside an enemy city had that trait.

- Aeudi declared war to Aruernoi when they had roman armies in Uienos ( Aeudi were at war with them) next to their city Lugdunon ( in fact aeudi armies left Lugdunon and went to fight aruernoi city close by).

- I thought you could attack fleets inside ports if you surrounded all sea tiles arround the port, but that is not the case in my game. Is this working as intended?

- Some text errors in year in history, kretan skirmisher description, hypaspistai description, Histria city wonder and foreign military settlers building description. That last one is bit rare. It has his culture bonus missing in spring and autumn seasons. Besides the icon on the main map is summer for spring and autumn too. Dunno whats happening there.
http://imgur.com/BjiSmhu
http://imgur.com/JyWxhYP
http://imgur.com/uIXITAB
http://imgur.com/EVOdLYY
http://imgur.com/6b54Kxx

http://imgur.com/4VEbacT
http://imgur.com/LBtqK5d
http://imgur.com/amRSFgU
http://imgur.com/2sNyx6h


- There is a rebel army in a province north of Italy which city is been besieged by romans that does nothing.. stay there. If it had attacked the roman army they could had win.
http://imgur.com/7RZc8tB


- It seems like the fleets moving keep starting wars. Bosporus declared me war when one of their fleets "crashed" against my krete port ( and i had to send a diplomat to one of their cities and use force diplomatic feature to be able to restore peace and trade, bah).

Rome started war with me same way.. dunno if that was more on purpose since they send couple fleets of one ship against 2 of my ports with a fleet 3 ships each. Next turn their ships were sunk and i have all their ports in Adriatic sea blocked since then. I only retreat fleets to the Taras strait when they build more ships, so they leave the ports and i go kill them and block the ports again.

- Some "[error] Medieval 2: Total War encountered an unspecified error and will now exit." i think all of them while using building brownser to investigate about polis and military settler buildings making. Which one make in this or that city, what i am missing to do a bigger polis or a military settler building here or there. Or while checking units info. I am attaching some of those logs in a .rar, first one has some cuts from 3 logs ( last lines of file), 2 others are full logs . I hope they help.
Before that error occurred i had corrupted buttons everywhere. I am sending an example. Once i started using building brownser here and there and/or check units info the buttons start appearing that way. I quickly saved the game all the times. And when i tried to go to main screen to reload, error occurred ever.
http://imgur.com/jUwZu8o


- Scripted makedonian reform worked perfectly. The new units appeared next turn after the announcement.The theurophoroi have too low requeriments in my opinion. I was able to recruit them in Tylis, Naissos and Beripara ie while i could only recruit there skirmishers. No other infantry unit.

- As i ended not been sure that if it was my map what was bugged in v2.03f i added the map.rwm included in the v2.03g file i downloaded. But i fount same unpassable river crossings than i knew in my map in v2.03f, so.. i fount another invalid river crossing.
http://imgur.com/KOJZJl2


- There is a bug or an invalid description in the military administration goverment type. Description says like you need it to be able to build the first military colony building ( as it was a prerrequisite). But then i have both in the building screen at the same time.
http://imgur.com/0RUsEFT

- Dunno if there is a piece of road missing or it will appear when the other road to the north is built and the bridge appears.
http://imgur.com/15wuFK2

- Phyrros army behaviour in Pella siege combat was weird. He besieged Pella with his starting army ( but only after going thermon turn one, kill rebel army there, along with thermon garrison in same turn, and not taking the city, i had one of my generals sneaky go next to epeiros armies and take the empty city next turn ( turn 2). Then he went north to his capital and after that towards Pella to attack it like turn 4 or 5).
I put together all units i could and go fight the besieging army. I launched the attack from the city cause the reinforcements couldnt start the battle. I sent them to attack and stoped next to city and Phyrro army ( they had no movement left). So i started the battle with 2 infantry on the walls and one skirmisher, and the general in the center of the city. Phyrros army left their besieging equipment and formed parallel to my walls, and stayed there the whooooole battle. I suppose towers killed quite a few of them.
Their skirmishers and archers depleted the ammo against the units in the walls. They sent the closest units to my reinforcements one by one or 2 by two to come say "hello" ( it is the only reason i find for them to do that). So i killed them one by one or 2 by 2 with reinforcemnts while they were comming close to the city/wall/epeiros army. Even Phyrros himself came all alone for a kamikace attack. Well.. i killed him and then his army. A really silly battle.
http://imgur.com/510QgOI
http://imgur.com/WlvwnAx

- Pritanoi have disembarked almost a full stack in Gaul.. dunno if theyll get to do anything. Rome is arround.
http://imgur.com/9ucA8Wh

- I suppose it is working as intended but i laught a lot when i saw the turns needed to make the siege equipment. It seems like my army had 1 building point.
http://imgur.com/qqCFObg

- Lots of traffic in Bosphorus strait. If i am not wrong those are pontus, sauromatae, aruernoi and seleukid fleets. I was sure they were going to get stuck due to turn order for ages, but no. Not sure how they moved. But there were no blockage there. And i think there were not battle neither.
http://imgur.com/B1Oywdw


- I am not really, really sure but it seems like the +1 experience bonus from game fields dont apply ever. I have the game field ( gymnansium or whatever) built in Athens together with the forge temple to get cheaper retraining. So i bring units without the first experience chevron to give it to them. But i am pretty sure i have retrained units more than once that the next turn didnt get the chevron. Dunno if depends on the season, if there is a morale bonus that applies too and you need to retrain them twice... something is wrong there.

- I thought Arche Seleukea horde was worked out a bit in this release.. but in my campaign best i can say is that they only was delayed a bit. Cause... if you see the screenshot i link here... guess whos the horde? I am not really sure....
http://imgur.com/OiSHxmf

I think Grey Death delayed a bit compared with v2.03f.. but only a bit. They have killed Pergamon, and really fast although Pergamon had 4 or 5 cities already. Grey Death has cleared Ptolomei from Asia Minor and has made them retreat till Egypt. Then they have put Nabateans to horde (they had 4 or 5 cities)and hayasdan is down to one city ( they had 4-5). And it seems they arent loosing ground on the far east.
I tried to delay them a bit making Ephesus revolt to Ptolomai couple times. But they retook it fast. On the other hand Ptolomei refused all my ceasefires attempts till Arche Seleuka removed them from Asia Minor. Then they come to offer ceasefire to me.
Red Death is been bit more slowly since i have been able to "disturb" them a bit more. I made Taras revolt and go elutheroi since i had killed Epeiros already. Taras went elutheroi with almost a full stack as garrison and it has been recruiting units till have almost 2 full stacks outside of the city plus full stack garrisoning. I made also Patavium revolt to Aeudi 2 times. That started the war between Roman and Aeudi, they were at peace still. I made Lugdunon revolt to aeudi twice too once roman took it.
I have had my spies very active, but sometimes stay in an enemy city with public order below 70% more than 3 turns and the city doesnt revolt. More than once the "solution" is take my spy outside of the city... Otherwise Roman are steamrolling Aeudi again. I fount that some Auedi villages had not walls yet, that could be one reason. But still.. i doubt aeudi armies have won a single battle against romans. Romans had not Taras, not Rhegion, have not a single city in Sicily. I have almost 100% of the time their adriatic ports blockaded and they can still have a lot of armies conquering the world.
In Sirakusa there are 3 rebel armies too, i suspect one of them is carthago rebel army since it is commanded by someone called Hanno.
http://imgur.com/hSmbCB2

- Assasins spawn keep been an issue, ptolomei were sending them by pairs almost every turn while i was at war with them, once Grey Death removed them from Asia minor and they offered ceasefire they stopped. But them romans fleet moved crashed my ports ( i suspect) and started war and they have sent ( and keep sending) another waves assasins 2 or 3 almost every turn. Good thing is first attacks made my generals get traits + security instead been killed. Then i handle the problem with my own assasins and spies. Now i am even lucky to see roman assasins comming due to my fleets blockading Patavium and Felsina docks. The fleets uncover the assasins comming and i have time to kill them before they reach my cities.
Only success assasins have had so far is damaging buildings 2 or 3 times ( it was ptolomai spies many turns ago).

- Campaign is been fun so far. I like a lot the polis + goverment combo to get the units. I love makedon roster as it is now even if it is unfished ( thrakian units, different pikements, whatever). But i am afraid the day when i must fight Grey Death. Above all if it is at the same time than Romans. Romans i can "handle" , in fact i have sacked Arpi, destroyed almost all buildings and let it revolt back to romans since i dont have generals to use as governor yet. And i am planning to do the same with another roman cities. But I doubt i can beat Grey Death if they send stacks as i see them in map. If it was maybe 2 stacks a turn i could.. but i doubt i can beat more than 2 stacks a turn with same army. Dont know if ecomy would let me have more than 2 armies in that front , and i dont know if replenishing rates would be enought to reinforce/replace loses. Ill play a bit more to find out.

- Another big, big issue is my general´s confidence/loyalty/influence. I dont know if it is bugged, unfinished or if i have lost the knowlodge/ability i had in previous TW games to "babysite" my generals. But now i have someone comming out age, as husband, adoption whatever and they can come sharp/charismatic/vigorous and unselfish/optimistic with 4 or 5 points in confidence ( btw i understand confidence= old administration skill, right?) and loyalty only to see them loose points each turn in one or both to be a 1 or 0 confidence and 1 or 2 loyalty half a dozen turns later, doesnt matter what i do with them. And even worst no a fuc... clue why is that happening. In other games traits and ancillaris helped a lot. As it is game now.. i see no trait or ancillaries movement with all that looses, and i know "hidden" values like etnicity can be guilty of some of those looses.. but still.. i feel bit lost. I have read traits are unfinished or need work, i hope you can improve the system.

Thats all folks, keep that fantastic work going.

Ill let you know if/when i find something else:

Melvi

PD: is there any faction youd like to check in a campaign? i dont like /know how to really play the nomad factions but beside those.. i could start a v2.03h or i of whatever faction youd like some feedback.
PD: Erhh i cant attach the .rar files with the logs.. i dont know why.

[melvidh]

Hello:

Again, free upkeep depends on three things:
1) A unit having the free_upkeep_unit trait in the EDU.
2) A building having the free_upkeep_bonus capability.
3) That same building being able to recruit a unit with the first.

A complication with the Iberian rosters is that they are quite thin, and thus are sharing mercenary units with factional ones. Units with mercenary_unit do not get free upkeep (because you can't have mercenaries not requiring pay). Not only that, but generally most free_upkeep units are peasant levies, with the is_peasant trait. This is by design, most units valid for free upkeep are not good quality ones. For that, you have to use the minor settlements. I won the argument about ensuring all levies had free upkeep, but outside of cavalry not removing it from non-levy infantry. The reason Hoplitai have free upkeep is that when they weren't serving, they'd be off tending their fields, as is the case for many Roman units.

Yeah, i understood the free unkeep mechanism. Maybe it is just i fount a big difference between the poor arevaci skirmishers and the makedon hoplitae. Prolly if i had played other faction than romans or greeks ( those with hoplitae with free unkeep) after arevaci, i wouldnt have thought arevaci were so unlucky. That said some arevaci levy spearmen with free unkeep would be a great adition.

Number of households is irrelevant to recruiting. Recruitment does not decrease population as it did in EB1, rates are controlled through an entirely different mechanism. Furthermore, the AI has a scripted boost to it's money, ensuring it doesn't stay in debt for long, and is always kept above a certain amount of money. The AI does not operate under the same financial constraints as the human player. Again, this is by design because the AI is dumb and will recruit itself into never-ending bankruptcy and then passivity if left to its own devices.

No, no, i wasnt thinking in the households sustracted when recruiting, i know ( now once you told me in previous post) that the system is different here. And thats why you cant enslave population when taking a city for instance. I was thinking more in the economic side of having "only" 10k population and the money you could get with that. Thats the reason i mentioned the trade too. But as you say if the economic system AI faction uses is different from the one human players are used, it is perfectly explained why lusotannan could have that big army ( at least compared with my meagre forces).

Adoption is random. Sometimes you get good ones, sometimes you don't.

Yup, yup, i know that too. I have rejected husbands or adoptions when the char is that bad. I was only saying. All that time waiting for a new general and first "offer" i got was that dumb heheheheh.

The Aedui might have had a settlement bordering the Mediterranean at some point, and susequently lost it.

Umhh, i dont think so. I got Ilirtia on turn 2, so i could "see" Emporion from the star. And i could watch tolossa and massalia with spies since the beginning and romans got them really soon. It could be, for instance if Patavium would revolt from romans.. but i doubt it. That ship i took the screenshot was moving from Atlantic to Mediterraean too so.... Otherwise.. should the Gibraltar strait be unpassable? i could load a savegame, build a ship in Gader or Mastia and check it. I didnt make any ship in my arevaci game since i didnt have the money to counter carthago triere fleets with pontomera ships.

Regards:

Melvi

[z3n]

Hordes, by product of slow expansion vs rebels.

It looks like the next release will feature a more expansionist cai similar to 2.03c. With an optional slow paced one.

[Jervaj]

I want to do a comment about charges.

I am gonna say first that Im experienced with vanilla charges, here Im still having a lot of problems Im been able to get the "charging" state often but the effectiveness even on units with great charge stats is very underwhelming.

It seems it works with both one click or double click, what I like as it makes it need less micromanaging depending on how fast you want the unit to arrive there. But said starting the charge is the easy thing making it efefctive is another. Most time charges are very disordered, units charge individually with a few arriving one by one at the start and the rest walking and even when they seem half proper the casualities are dissapointing at best even when charging from the back.

With infantry I managed some good ones but still mostly suffer the same problems getting interrupted and so. Hoplite charges have been the worst offender as they have those high charge bonus and still getting nice charges feels really meh.

[HaHawk]

I want to do a comment about charges.

I am gonna say first that Im experienced with vanilla charges, here Im still having a lot of problems Im been able to get the "charging" state often but the effectiveness even on units with great charge stats is very underwhelming.

With all due respect to the team, I have found that lowered charge distance and increased cohesion check makes a world of difference in achieving successful charges on a consistent basis. I will put together a video later to demonstrate.

While the hard coded engine limits mean we can't achieve 100% perfection -- it's all about trade-offs -- I am confident that the abovementioned changes are preferable to the current mechanics.

[QuintusSertorius]

Again, free upkeep depends on three things:
1) A unit having the free_upkeep_unit trait in the EDU.
2) A building having the free_upkeep_bonus capability.
3) That same building being able to recruit a unit with the first.

A complication with the Iberian rosters is that they are quite thin, and thus are sharing mercenary units with factional ones. Units with mercenary_unit do not get free upkeep (because you can't have mercenaries not requiring pay). Not only that, but generally most free_upkeep units are peasant levies, with the is_peasant trait. This is by design, most units valid for free upkeep are not good quality ones. For that, you have to use the minor settlements. I won the argument about ensuring all levies had free upkeep, but outside of cavalry not removing it from non-levy infantry. The reason Hoplitai have free upkeep is that when they weren't serving, they'd be off tending their fields, as is the case for many Roman units.

The only free upkeep building the Arevaci have is their migration government. There were some others that purported to give it, except they didn't allow recruitment, which made the bonus redundant. This was changed for a trade boost instead. It's also the only cultural conversion building they have.

All Allied Governments have reduced building trees, because there are a lot of higher-tier buildings which are explicitly locked out if the government there is Allied of any kind. The descriptions aren't clear on that, but that is the case, regardless of which faction is using it. The whole point of Allied Governments is that they are quick and easy to install just after conquest, not that they are a good choice for long-term development.

The AI does not destroy buildings when it takes settlements. The only buildings that are destroyed, are government buildings, which is because it's scripted. Carthaginian Trade Colonies are not government buildings, thus AI Rome will not destroy them.

I don't think the Cyclopean Monuments do anything for any faction. They're a historical novelty, rather than an active part of the settlement.

I'll point the map issue out to our mapper.

Number of households is irrelevant to recruiting. Recruitment does not decrease population as it did in EB1, rates are controlled through an entirely different mechanism. Furthermore, the AI has a scripted boost to it's money, ensuring it doesn't stay in debt for long, and is always kept above a certain amount of money. The AI does not operate under the same financial constraints as the human player. Again, this is by design because the AI is dumb and will recruit itself into never-ending bankruptcy and then passivity if left to its own devices.

The two Scutarii are different units. While the card isn't clear, one is a spearman (the cheaper one) and the other a swordsman (the more expensive).

As above, the reason Arevaci have fewer free upkeep units is because they're doubling up as mercenaries. So all you have are slingers and javelineers. There should be a levy spearman unit at the least as well.

Adoption is random. Sometimes you get good ones, sometimes you don't.

The Aedui might have had a settlement bordering the Mediterranean at some point, and susequently lost it.

I have no idea why you're not getting ancillary announcements, sounds like something is wrong with your build.