Rise of the Eagles Alpha 3.0
Download: HERE
How to install: simply drag the main folder inside your main MTW2 installation ...\mods\RotE and you're done.
What's new in 3.0: a ton of content. Literally, I'd be more brief if I told you what is not there anymore. Which is, a colossal amount of bugs that have been fixed.
- New factions
- Completely revamped gameplay from the ground-up
- Rebalancing of each and every unit after extensive testing and months of simulations
- "Square formation" (schiltrom) has now been implemented for all foot soldiers excluding light infantrymen, and it has a specific workaround that makes it very similar to the real counterpart
- All bonuses have been arranged again and their descriptions altered to fit the period
- Rock-Paper-Scissors battle mechanics akin to Shogun 2, where each unit has a purpose and a suitable counter for every situation and its weaknesses are always specific
New factions include:
Bavaria
A moderately powerful kingdom, balanced all around, has a unit for every situation. Its main weakness however, is precisely this: Bavaria doesnt excel in anything particular. It's a jack-of-all-trades slightly weaker in every aspect compared to the major factions.
Landwehr
Light Infantry
Fusiliers
Grenadiers
Lifeguard Fusiliers
Lifeguard Grenadiers
Hussars
Dragoons
Cuirassiers
Uhlans
Chevaux-Legers
Artillery
Generals Staff
Wurttemberg
The finest German soldiers in the world were born here. Wurttemberg is a great secondary power with a strong military tradition and stubbornly courageous soldiers. During Napoleonic times, their spirit of camaraderie was at its peak under Napoleon's eagles and later they would support the flame of nationalism in Germany. This is a faction with particularly good morale and excellent elite troops.
Landwehr
Jager
Light Infantry
Fusiliers
Grenadiers
Guard Grenadiers
Chevaux-Legers
Dragoons
Horse Grenadiers
Lifeguard Grenadiers
Artillery
Generals Staff
Kingdom of Italy & Kingdom of Naples
The Napoleonic kingdom of italy and Naples were two of the major factions in central Italy that would later favour the italian unification or, by contrast, completely ruin its premise. In the case of the Kingdom of Italy, although they kept the Austrians at bay for all the Napoleonic Wars and the government had a chance to keep its territories under italian control, the nobility destabilized what little remained of the former kingodm, waiting anxiously to return to their former positions of power that the Austrians would, in their minds, grant them once again. Little did they know that this move would cost them all their previous freedoms and another 40 years of harsh foreign domination. In the case of Naples instead, the opposite happened, however, the aid that Joachim Murat, former king of Naples, provided Napoleon with, was too little too late.
Both kingdoms have essentially the same strenghts and weaknesses, however Naples has generally unwilling men and less discipline among its ranks, while the Kingdom of northern Italy is a more fine example of chivalry. They excel in cavalry tactics in forests and hilly terrain and their elite troops have great morale.
Militia
Voltigeurs
Chasseurs
Fusiliers
Grenadiers
Velite Chasseurs
Velite Grenadiers
Neapolitan Royal Guard Grenadiers
Neapolitan Lancers
Chevaux-Legers
Chasseurs-a-Cheval
Dragoons
Royal Guard Dragoons
Cuirassiers
Artillery
Generals Staff
Russian Empire
At this point in time Alexander I's Empire has a very strong reputation and its the only force capable of stopping Napoleon's advance, however, after Friedland and Eylau many doubted the miracle would happen anytime soon. But the Russian soldier was no force to mess around with: stoic, imposing, almost unnervingly oblivious to death and pain, an entire regiment of those tortured souls taken away from serfdom, when not voluntarily seeking service among the higher ranks from nobility, would discourage any army in Europe with its sheer presence.
The Russians have a greater morale than any other faction and a tremendous bonus in snowy battlefieds (+8), they generally suffer less attrition in forests and can withstand more direct assaults from the enemy than any other beside the French. Their melee attack bonus is also the highest in the game, and their artillery has an exceedingly long range. The Cossacks are as quick as regular lancers and can withdraw faster. However, for all the bonuses those men get, they are not invincible. Upon contact, their light cavalry loses momentum rather quickly, forcing deep penetrations at crucial points in the battle; the range and quality of their muskets, alongside with the questionable accuracy of the men, makes them less effective at range than most other factions, especially at shorter distances against cavalry where they can miss an entire line even after firing a solid volley.
Opolchenie (Militia)
Jager
Mounted Jager
Light Infantry
Musketeers
Grenadiers
Lifeguard Grenadiers
Hussars
Dragoons
Cuirassiers
Lifeguard Cuirassiers
Cossack Cavalry
Lifeguard Cossacks
Artillery
Generals Staff
HOW DOES SQUARE FORMATION WORK?
The old schiltrom ability has been used to simulate square formation. Apart from the nature of the shape of the formation itself, which is round, there is no great difference: I've given the "short pike" ability to all foot soldiers' secondary weapons - which is, in this case, the bayonet - so that when cavalry charges, you can:
1 - form square
2 - wait for cavalry to be in range and shoot a volley or two
3 - when engaged in close range combat, switch to your melee attack and target the cavalrymen assaulting your unit
With this simple method, units in formation will still get their bonus against cavalry and will refrain from shooting, while at the same time attacking the enemy. Very straightforward. However, you'll need to micro manage your units a bit, because if you dont tell them to use "melee attack" when in formation, there is a tendency for them to do nothing and \ or try to shoot.
Aside from this unpleasant side effect, it works as intended.
Why is iconic unit XXX not in the mod?
I'm aware that some of the most iconic \ elite units are not in yet, like French Carabiniers for example. However, you must keep in mind that I've used up 150 unit slots out of 500 allowed already, so I'm trying to save up space for the factions yet to be implemented. With a fixed budget one can work better, hopefully I'll have enough slots to fill in the gaps, if not, you'll have to live with it for the time being.
What's next?
I'll finish the Italian peninsula's factions - Papal States, Sicily and Sardinia\Savoy, then I'll proceed to the Ottoman Empire. Once those 4 are done, I'll release the next version.
Where's the Campaign Map?
I would love to answer that question. I have done the basic layout, the cities are set in place, the names of the regions - and the regions themselves - are awaiting testing. However, I'm not confident releasing a campaign without all of the factions already in. So you'll have to wait a bit more.