Various Armors, Reinforcements and Gadgets (VARG) - a submod for DAC 1.2. (28.2 -FINAL UPDATE!!)

[The Black Goldfish]

I can't download it from mega... for some reason it says "temporary error, retrying" and it never finishes, can u give any other type of download site or something?

Weird. Anyways, I've created this for you. CLICK ME!!!
(Link expires in 30 days)

[eatme]

Just to note @OP, awesome work, the love you put into artwork for Dorwinion and Dale really stands out. keep it up!

[Lazarus9]

Armor upgrades that I really like and find useful are for Rohan, Dunedain, Dunledings, Dorwinion and others ... Plus Anduin is also interesting and good. I hope that Dunedain Cardolan units look will find its place somewhere in next version of DAC with Dunedain or with Bree. Rohan has been refreshed. Now the only thing that some Rohan units lack of is shoulder protection.

Dorwinion - as my second favorite faction. One reason why I stopped playing with them, only after 5 or 6 campaigns :-) , is lack of heavy armor upgrade until now and padded armor of Regent units. Don't get me wrong, they look great for first/second tier of units, but not for the top tier and I'm happy that somebody else, with this amount of skill and talent, had similar view. I really, really love new Regent units look. Find it to be one of the best new works. Thorn units are almost perfect. Maybe shoulder protection cold be slightly rotated to deflect blades away from the neck (like it maters :-) ). And here are my suggestions. I have replaced Vineyard Shieldbearers (dorwin_maa204) with some older spearmen (dorwin_maa203). Dorwinion has way to many swordsmen and swords are sidearms, while spear should be primary weapon for low end units. Maybe old Regent units skins could be used for first tier units? If that is possible?

Dale - my favorite faction. When I compare old and new solutions I find it 50/50. It's like personal preference and I could, am playing with both. The new skin for general bodyguards looks really good. My only problem whit it is that, disregarding rangers, almost all units fall in blue and silver/gray color scheme, that I'm used to. From my point of view, Dale units that need visual armor upgrade are Barding Hird - metal protection for legs and arms or they need to be demoted to the second tier; Dale Swordmasters - need great helmet, otherwise heavy armor makes absolutely no sense (arrow to the head). That is also the problem with Enedwaith elite unit. Rhovanion Gadraughts sprite after upgrade isn't displaying correctly. They are half way in the ground. One minor suggestion - maybe visual update for final upgrade level 4, partial plate regarding Dale longbowmen, swordsmen and cavalry could be some form of leg protection (mail or plate). That could be done also for Thorn units after 5th level upgrade. I'll post about this also in DAC thread, primarily regarding Rhovanion Gadraughts.

[The Black Goldfish]

Armor upgrades that I really like and find useful are for Rohan, Dunedain, Dunledings, Dorwinion and others ... Plus Anduin is also interesting and good. I hope that Dunedain Cardolan units look will find its place somewhere in next version of DAC with Dunedain or with Bree. Rohan has been refreshed. Now the only thing that some Rohan units lack of is shoulder protection.

Dorwinion - as my second favorite faction. One reason why I stopped playing with them, only after 5 or 6 campaigns :-) , is lack of heavy armor upgrade until now and padded armor of Regent units. Don't get me wrong, they look great for first/second tier of units, but not for the top tier and I'm happy that somebody else, with this amount of skill and talent, had similar view. I really, really love new Regent units look. Find it to be one of the best new works. Thorn units are almost perfect. Maybe shoulder protection cold be slightly rotated to deflect blades away from the neck (like it maters :-) ). And here are my suggestions. I have replaced Vineyard Shieldbearers (dorwin_maa204) with some older spearmen (dorwin_maa203). Dorwinion has way to many swordsmen and swords are sidearms, while spear should be primary weapon for low end units. Maybe old Regent units skins could be used for first tier units? If that is possible?

Dale - my favorite faction. When I compare old and new solutions I find it 50/50. It's like personal preference and I could, am playing with both. The new skin for general bodyguards looks really good. My only problem whit it is that, disregarding rangers, almost all units fall in blue and silver/gray color scheme, that I'm used to. From my point of view, Dale units that need visual armor upgrade are Barding Hird - metal protection for legs and arms or they need to be demoted to the second tier; Dale Swordmasters - need great helmet, otherwise heavy armor makes absolutely no sense (arrow to the head). That is also the problem with Enedwaith elite unit. Rhovanion Gadraughts sprite after upgrade isn't displaying correctly. They are half way in the ground. One minor suggestion - maybe visual update for final upgrade level 4, partial plate regarding Dale longbowmen, swordsmen and cavalry could be some form of leg protection (mail or plate). That could be done also for Thorn units after 5th level upgrade. I'll post about this also in DAC thread, primarily regarding Rhovanion Gadraughts.

Thank you for your kind words and critique

To be honest with you, I didn't really do much in regards to Rohan, other than the Eorling Militia upgrade. All the other armor upgrades utilizes files already present within DaC/ TATW, it's all down to a few lines of codes, and now you have a visible armor upgrade for a bunch of Rohan units

Dorwinion was also one of the primary reasons I started this project. I am also very satisfied with how their Byzantine inspired looks turned out.
In regards to the Vineyard Shieldbeares; This problem will be adressed in DaC 2.0., where Dorwinion gets an overhaul for their Militia units which is a massive improvement over what you have now, and they will come in the form of Spear/shield and Archer units. And, fingers crossed, 2.0 Should be out within a few months

Regarding Dale; I completely agree that the Crimson color scheme of the Generals unit and the Blue of the rest of the army is a bit of a conflict. I am myself a bit in both camps; I appreciate certain elements of the Hobbit movies-style look (Helmets and fur for instance.), while on the other hand, the current Dale Roster in blue is imo one of the better looking rosters of the game. I would like to draw a parralel to Medieval Russia with Dale; A people form the North-East of the known world, trading on the rivers, and excellent Archers. I'm not planning any major changes to Dale right now, but DaC 2.0 will bring some new stuff to the table.

Your points about heavy armor are true, but again, I'm not planning anything until 2.0. is out

[The Black Goldfish]

Hi again everyone!

The mod has just been updated!

What news await you within?

- Arthalions Lindon mod has been integrated. Or, all the skins are, but I did not integrate the new units like Grey Haven Guards
- New Banner Carriers for Orc Fations, Courtesy of Adjudant-Major's "Minor Additions"
- Rhûn re-coloring (My own doing, sorry Taurion of Lindon )
- New Noldorin Guard
- Serpent Bladesmen (And by extention any unit that looks like them) re-coloring and new sabres
- Ered Luin now have fully upgraded Nogrod Spearmen as officers for their units (the guys standing behind the banner carrier)

[Taurion of Lindon]

cool Plus I don't really care what people do with that little mod. Personally, I like your textures more.

[♔atthias♔]

Hi again everyone!

The mod has just been updated!

What news await you within?

- Arthalions Lindon mod has been integrated. Or, all the skins are, but I did not integrate the new units like Grey Haven Guards
- New Banner Carriers for Orc Fations, Courtesy of Adjudant-Major's "Minor Additions"
- Rhûn re-coloring (My own doing, sorry Taurion of Lindon )
- New Noldorin Guard
- Serpent Bladesmen (And by extention any unit that looks like them) re-coloring and new sabres
- Ered Luin now have fully upgraded Nogrod Spearmen as officers for their units (the guys standing behind the banner carrier)

good job+rep

[MIKE GOLF]

Very good job indeed!


EDIT: My goodness, the Dale Bodyguards are phenomenal!!!! Excellent work.

[Kindjal83]

Strange, I get a CTD after the first loading screen, just before the intro video... I copied the files, clicked "Yes" for the overwriting the files, use the cleaner, and after starting, it just crashes. Any ideia why?

[The Black Goldfish]

DON'T use the cleaner, mate :p

[Kindjal83]

DON'T use the cleaner, mate :p

It figures... I reinstalled my backup folder. It starts ok. I sstarted a new campaign, then exited the game. Reinstalled VARG, and... Still CTD... Maybe is something on my end...

[MIKE GOLF]

It figures... I reinstalled my backup folder. It starts ok. I sstarted a new campaign, then exited the game. Reinstalled VARG, and... Still CTD... Maybe is something on my end...

I would redownload his mod again, there were some missing sprites earlier. I can't remember if missing sprites will cause a ctd, but you will want them to get the cool Dale bodyguards.

[Firnafin]

Hey, I've installed your mod, I love it

However the Rhûn recoloring doesn't seems to work for me

And there was a bug causing a CTD with the Mithlond Noble. The problem was the third officer ( lindon_sword ). Putting back a falas_lord fixed the problem for me, I guess something went wrong somewhere during my installation

[The Black Goldfish]

Hey, I've installed your mod, I love it

However the Rhûn recoloring doesn't seems to work for me

And there was a bug causing a CTD with the Mithlond Noble. The problem was the third officer ( lindon_sword ). Putting back a falas_lord fixed the problem for me, I guess something went wrong somewhere during my installation

Care to elaborate regarding the Rhun Reskin? I have toned down the gold to a bronze and fiddled a bit with the red... doesn't it show or are you unhappy with it?

Whoops, well spotted with Mithlond Swords. I'll fix it ASAP!

[Celtic Magister]

There seems to be some silver surfer issues with the Serpent Guard when playing as Umbar; I have not tested this problem with Harad yet.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[The Black Goldfish]

I don't think you are supposed to get them as Umbar tbh. I think they are a Harad-only unit
But if I'm wrong it's easily fixable in Battle_models.

[Celtic Magister]

I don't think you are supposed to get them as Umbar tbh. I think they are a Harad-only unit
But if I'm wrong it's easily fixable in Battle_models.

They're recruitable through the Barracks of the True Sons in Harad-influence regions where the slave camp line can be built.
What line will fix the problem?

[The Black Goldfish]

This should fix it. Just overwrite the current entry.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

14 haradrim_heavy
1 1
48 unit_models/_Units/EN_Lmail_Hmail/zzsw_lod0.mesh 6400
4
5 turks
71 unit_models/_Units/EN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/en_tmail_tmail_harad.texture
78 unit_models/_Units/EN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/en_tmail_tmail_harad_normal.texture
46 unit_sprites/spain_southron_archers_sprite.spr
5 spain
71 unit_models/_Units/EN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/en_tmail_tmail_harad.texture
78 unit_models/_Units/EN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/en_tmail_tmail_harad_normal.texture
46 unit_sprites/spain_southron_archers_sprite.spr
6 russia
71 unit_models/_Units/EN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/en_tmail_tmail_harad.texture
78 unit_models/_Units/EN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/en_tmail_tmail_harad_normal.texture
46 unit_sprites/spain_southron_archers_sprite.spr
5 slave
71 unit_models/_Units/EN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/en_tmail_tmail_harad.texture
78 unit_models/_Units/EN_Lmail_Hmail/textures/en_tmail_tmail_harad_normal.texture
46 unit_sprites/spain_southron_archers_sprite.spr
4
5 turks
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final Middle Eastern_harad_diff.texture
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final Middle Eastern_harad_norm.texture 0
5 spain
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final Middle Eastern_harad_diff.texture
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final Middle Eastern_harad_norm.texture 0
6 russia
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final Middle Eastern_harad_diff.texture
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final Middle Eastern_harad_norm.texture 0
5 slave
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final Middle Eastern_harad_diff.texture
66 unit_models/AttachmentSets/Final Middle Eastern_harad_norm.texture 0
1
4 None
14 MTW2_Swordsman 0
2
18 MTW2_Sword_Primary 14 fs_test_shield
0
16 -0.090000004 0 0 -0.34999999 0.80000001 0.60000002

[Firnafin]

Care to elaborate regarding the Rhun Reskin? I have toned down the gold to a bronze and fiddled a bit with the red... doesn't it show or are you unhappy with it?

Whoops, well spotted with Mithlond Swords. I'll fix it ASAP!

For the rhûn reskin my unit kept their brown tone, the deep red showed in the screenshot doens't seems to appear.
EDIT : Corrected, my own error in the installation

On a side note, I can send you a battle.model.db (with your Serpent Blade fix) if you want to integrate the Arthalion units to your mod, for thoses that want them, some EDU modification must still be done however

[The Black Goldfish]

On a side note, I can send you a battle.model.db (with your Serpent Blade fix) if you want to integrate the Arthalion units to your mod, for thoses that want them, some EDU modification must still be done however

Nah, I don't think Lindon need yet another Pike-unit and another cavalry unit. Lindon is OP enough as it is

Anyways, can I tease you all for a bit?

As the release of DaC 2.0 looms closer, much of this mod will become obsolete, with much of it being integrated into DaC. I MIGHT port this mod into 2.0, If I can muster the time and patience, but otherwise, this wil lremain as an open resouce and basically my "Workshop", where I'll post some units every now and then.

Speaking of units, these might yet make it into VARG beforre 2.0 is released

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Erebor General



Avari Guard/ Naharim