Mod Recomendation Needed!

[aetiusaetius]

Hi! After a long time I would want to play Empire tw again but I cannot find a proper mod to play with. I played vanilla a lot in the past, and Darthmod and EmpireHG aswell. I would like a mod with similar additions like Darth Mod but closer to vanilla battle gameplay (but better AI) and stats.

I would basicly like a vanilla HD Empire tw with new units, mechanics and graphics and improved BAI and CAI, but with vanilla stats and battle gameplay as in vanilla

.

My main condition for the mod will be:

- better CAI and BAI than vanilla and Darthmod.
- new land and naval units with better graphics and battle effects like Darthmod (or Napoleon TW), but similar balance as in vanilla.
- No mayor naval gameplay tweaks. I found vanilla naval battles very fun and balanced. Darthmod and EmpireHG naval battles where desperetly slow, and morale and damage were tragic. Overall, the naval experience was far better and more enjoyable in vanilla.
- Army formation mantained while advancing (no chaotic pointles one unit attack at a time).

Appreciated addons:

- extended map like in Imperial Destroyer.
- more factions in prestige chart.

My main complains For Darth mod not been an ideal mod would be:

- land battles too easy.
- naval battles unenjoyable.
- CAI very passive. I no longer fear British empire ( at this time period!). North America is a lovely garden, without any wars for almost the entire campaign.
- campaign too easy.
- BAI not really smart.
- Enemy line infantry always form in square instead of line.
- same music all the time. I hate by now the last mohicans theme soundtrack because it's played in every single battle.
- naval prestige is ridiculously high.

I have had a look at Imperial Destroyer and Imperial Splendour mods, but I can't find a full change description of these mods, and they seem to alter gameplay balance, stats, stamina…

I guess this could be moded taking vanilla game and other addons from here and there, but I never moded Empire TW and I'm afraid I lack the time anywy. Any help is really appreciated. Thanks!

[La♔De♔Da♔Brigadier Graham]

Hello there, you might want to try TAR mod ( The American Revolution) however in Terms of BAI and CAI I dont really think there is any better mod than the Darthmod,(IMHO)
The TAR mod is based somewhat on the Dathmod.
In terms of music, the mod I made for TAR mod is based on the Patriot.
There are many aspects of the game you can customise from the TAR menu.
You could give it a try and see what you think?

[Alwyn]

I agree that The American Revolution offers great game-play.

As far as I know, the only mod offering an extended map is Imperial Destroyer.

For better campaign and battle AI, I recommend Bran's Empire CAI (my preference is this one).

I hope you can find a mod (or combination of mods) you like. For what it's worth, if you prefer the vanilla play-style, you migh want to combine Empire Total Factions with Bran's Empire CAI. That won't give you an extended map, but it will unlock minor and emergent factions, make land battles more challenging and sea battles will still be vanilla. You could add other gameplay tweaks, if you wanted to customise your play further.

[Leonardo]

For better campaign and battle AI, I recommend Bran's Empire CAI (my preference is this one).

I hope you can find a mod (or combination of mods) you like. For what it's worth, if you prefer the vanilla play-style, you migh want to combine Empire Total Factions with Bran's Empire CAI. That won't give you an extended map, but it will unlock minor and emergent factions, make land battles more challenging and sea battles will still be vanilla. You could add other gameplay tweaks, if you wanted to customise your play further.

Agreed. I was just about to suggest that myself.

Although, I wonder why you don't suggest your own mods and I think some of them are compatible with Bran Mac Born's Empire TW Campaign AI mod, unless one only want to use Bran's Empire TW Battle AI mod.

[SagezTW]

My ideal mod would be Bran's Campaign AI + Imperial Destroyer BAI (units with vanilla stats) + expanded map from Imperial Destroyer. A smooth gameplay without too many units with hundreds historical uniforms and other soo important details Seriously this would be an ultimate mod.

[Leonardo]

My ideal mod would be Bran's Campaign AI + Imperial Destroyer BAI (units with vanilla stats) + expanded map from Imperial Destroyer. A smooth gameplay without too many units with hundreds historical uniforms and other soo important details Seriously this would be an ultimate mod.

I don't think that's a good idea, because Bran's Campaign AI has the separate Bran's BAI mod included and having two mods alter the same thing could cause a mod issue.


Remember, it is not recommended to use two mods that changes the same thing and in this case CAI or BAI mods together, because CAI mods often have the BAI part included in a CAI mod.

I'm not sure if a CAI mod without the BAI part exist or not.

[SagezTW]

It is a good idea, because Bran was kind enough to make CAI only version on my humble request (combat is 100% vanilla). Brain is a great guy. As I said, I'm being serious - my opinion is that modders too often care about historical details, struggle non stop for ''realism'' and the final result is a gargantuan-sized mod(s) that's never really finished (because there is always a danish/polish/afghan uniform from 1743-1746 that needs to be added because it is important for some reason).

[Bran Mac Born]

Yes it is POST# 4 of the Bran Empire AI thread. Campaign Ai only/No BAI.

[La♔De♔Da♔Brigadier Graham]

Yes it is POST# 4 of the Bran Empire AI thread. Campaign Ai only/No BAI.

I must try your mods sir, they look splendid indeed, so glad to see a long time modder like you around these parts.

[vanquisher92]

It is a good idea, because Bran was kind enough to make CAI only version on my humble request (combat is 100% vanilla). Brain is a great guy. As I said, I'm being serious - my opinion is that modders too often care about historical details, struggle non stop for ''realism'' and the final result is a gargantuan-sized mod(s) that's never really finished (because there is always a danish/polish/afghan uniform from 1743-1746 that needs to be added because it is important for some reason).

Is Compatible Campaign Ai only/No BAI of Bran with Imperial Destroyer or not ???

[aetiusaetius]

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions, I really appreciate it!! I was unfortunately not able to play yet but I am eager to do so and try your suggesion! They are great mods and now I have a broader view to costumise my Empire game and take it to a next level! Thanks so much, specially to modders and creators for your impresive work!

[Bob69Joe]

I agree that The American Revolution offers great game-play.

As far as I know, the only mod offering an extended map is Imperial Destroyer.

For better campaign and battle AI, I recommend Bran's Empire CAI (my preference is this one).

I hope you can find a mod (or combination of mods) you like. For what it's worth, if you prefer the vanilla play-style, you migh want to combine Empire Total Factions with Bran's Empire CAI. That won't give you an extended map, but it will unlock minor and emergent factions, make land battles more challenging and sea battles will still be vanilla. You could add other gameplay tweaks, if you wanted to customise your play further.

Is that Empire Total Factions mod this one that you're suggesting?

[Alwyn]

Is that Empire Total Factions mod this one that you're suggesting?

Yes, that's the one.

Empire Total Factions (ETF) will only work if your copies of Steam and Empire Total War are on the standard locations in your hard drive. The mod uses different startpos files for campaigns with different factions (which provides more stability). When we choose a faction on the launcher, the mod moves the starpos.esf for that campaign into the right folder automatically. The mod can only do this if it can find the folder in the standard location.

Installing Empire Total Factions with Windows 8 or 10 can be tricky (some players get an error message saying that their hard drive doesn't have enough space, even though it does. There is a solution - at least, it worked for me.

Sometimes people have problems starting ETF because they haven't started Steam before double-clicking on the ETF icon. Others start Empire normally from Steam and wonder why they can't see the changes from ETF. To start ETF, we need to start Steam, then double-click on the EFT icon and select a faction (or campaign) - when we do that, the game starts automatically.

[Bob69Joe]

Thanks a ton for the tips. All my Total War games are on Steam so I've had a bit of luck troubleshooting. I'm gonna try that Bran's better AI too, after I see how Empire Realism plays out. Thanks a ton!